Industry Research and Development

The projects presented here were conducted in industry and independent practice across aerospace, defence, and applied engineering. The work spanned smart material actuation, active vibration control, structural dynamics testing, and electro-optical systems development. Each project required translating an early-stage technical concept into a working prototype or validated experimental system, often under the constraints of client requirements and program timelines.

Active Vibration Control for Aircraft Fin Structures

Designed and tested piezoelectric actuator-based damping systems for suppressing aerodynamic flutter and vibration in aircraft fin and appendage structures, demonstrating active structural control performance under dynamic loading conditions representative of flight environments.

Precision Shape Control of Flexible Structures Using Piezoelectric Actuators

Developed methods for controlling the global deformation of flexible structures using arrays of piezoelectric bimorph actuators, establishing quantitative relationships between local actuation inputs and device-scale shape change for applications in precision engineering and adaptive structural systems.

Adaptive Damping Using Magnetorheological Inchworm Actuation

Designed and experimentally validated a novel inchworm-style damping mechanism driven by magnetorheological fluid actuation, enabling continuously variable and adaptively controlled vibration suppression for structural applications in dynamic and unpredictable loading environments.

Dynamic CharacteriZation of Thin Film Inflatable Structures for Space Applications

Developed experimental methods for characterizing the structural dynamics of large-scale thin film inflatable membrane structures under vacuum conditions, where conventional sensing and instrumentation approaches are impractical. Work addressed the fundamental measurement challenges of testing gossamer structures in environments representative of space deployment.

Passive Hub Damper for Wind Tunnel Sting Mount Vibration Reduction

Designed and experimentally validated a passive viscoelastic shear lap hub damper for suppressing dynamic response in wind tunnel sting mount systems, demonstrating measurable improvement in measurement quality and data validity during aerodynamic testing. The device addressed a practical instrumentation problem where sting mount vibration contaminates force and moment measurements at critical test conditions.

Passive Structural Damping Using Shunted Piezoelectric Tile Arrays

Investigated passive vibration suppression using arrays of shunted piezoelectric tiles bonded to structural surfaces, characterizing the relationship between shunt circuit design parameters and achievable damping performance across a range of structural configurations. The approach offers a lightweight, power-free alternative to active control for applications where system complexity, power availability, or reliability requirements favor passive solutions.