At the USC Liquid Propulsion Laboratory, I worked on the design, analysis, and testing of turbomachinery hardware for liquid rocket propulsion applications, with a primary focus on centrifugal pump systems and supporting test infrastructure. My work emphasized translating theoretical turbomachinery principles into manufacturable, testable hardware while operating within realistic constraints such as pressure limits, material selection, instrumentation access, and facility integration.
A central component of my work involved the design and development of a centrifugal pump volute and impeller test stand intended to experimentally characterize pump performance. I was responsible for developing the volute geometry using Siemens NX, implementing parameterized design logic to control area growth, radius progression, and tongue placement in accordance with turbomachinery best practices. This allowed rapid iteration of the volute design to study its impact on pressure recovery, flow uniformity, and overall pump efficiency.
To complement the CAD design, I conducted CFD simulations of the impeller–volute assembly, analyzing internal flow behavior, pressure rise, velocity distributions, and potential regions of separation or recirculation. These simulations informed design refinements and supported trade studies between geometric performance and manufacturability. Particular attention was given to inlet conditions, diffuser behavior, and interaction effects between the rotating impeller and stationary volute, ensuring the design aligned with expected operating regimes and avoided cavitation-prone conditions.
Beyond component-level design, I contributed to system-level considerations for the turbopump test setup, including interface constraints, structural mounting, instrumentation placement, and pressure boundary requirements. This exposed me to the broader realities of propulsion hardware development, where analytical performance must coexist with testability, safety, and facility limitations.
Through this work, I gained hands-on experience applying classical turbomachinery theory, such as Euler pump equations, continuity-driven area scaling, and pressure recovery concepts, directly to real hardware. Equally important, I developed an appreciation for the iterative nature of propulsion engineering: using analysis and test data to drive design changes rather than treating CAD or CFD results as final answers.
Overall, my experience at LPL closely mirrors industry propulsion development workflows. It strengthened my ability to move between first-principles analysis, CAD-driven design, CFD validation, and system integration, while reinforcing the importance of iteration, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and test-informed decision-making in high-performance turbomachinery systems