How long can
an engine take the heat?
Modeling the thermal limits of a rotating detonation engine—and bringing the analysis into the design and test process.
Inside the project
THE CHALLENGE
Estimate the thermal demands of a rotating detonation engine so cooling requirements and hot-fire duration could be evaluated during design.
MY CONTRIBUTION
Developed a turbulent boundary-layer heat-transfer model and integrated NASA CEA outputs into a quasi-one-dimensional thermal model. Connected that analysis to hardware fabrication, NI cDAQ integration, and automated heat-flux post-processing.
THE RESULT
The model predicted an average wall heat flux of 7.62 MW/m². Thermal design iteration dropped from 45 minutes to 2 minutes, making trade studies practical within the team’s design cycle.
Thermal Systems Lead Engineer · Purdue Undergraduate Rocket Propulsion Lab · August 2025–present. Heat flux is a model prediction.
