Research

Transient thermal response can determine whether an energy-storage or propulsion concept is practical.

Our interests include high-temperature heat transfer, thermal energy storage and spacecraft propulsion. Analysis considers how a system heats, cools and responds to changing loads, alongside material and thermal-structural constraints.

Focus of investigation

• Heat flow through materials and interfaces over time.
• Sensitivity to material properties and boundary conditions.
• Measurements needed to evaluate a thermal model.

A small measured response is useful only when instrument behavior and environmental effects are understood.

Research interests include magnetic sensing, thermal characterization and the apparatus needed to investigate weak signals. Measurement design considers calibration, shielding and phase-sensitive detection alongside noise, drift and environmental coupling.

Focus of investigation

• Instrument sensitivity, bandwidth and stability.
• Reference measurements and controls for competing explanations.
• Uncertainty in the relationship between a signal and the physical quantity of interest.

Field and material models help establish the expected response and the conditions an experiment must control.

Analytical and computational interests include electromagnetic interactions, magnetic flux concentration and energy transfer. Geometry, material properties and boundary conditions are considered together when evaluating a prediction.

This work supports the interpretation of measurement systems and the assessment of proposed physical configurations.