My internship had two main projects. The first was an analysis of an underwater electronics housing to determine the thermal performance when running electronics at full power. I modeled the system in several ways, progressively with more detail before finally completing a full CFD finite element analysis to model the thermal steady state solution. After analyzing the results, I recommended a solution to keep the housing temperature within operational limits and showed the improvement through CFD. The second half was performing an analysis on depth data collected from previous field trips with a towed platform to develop modeling for safe maneuvering altitudes and speed. I then wrote a depth controller to interface with the towed platform autopilot controls to maintain a desired altitude with a smooth flight path. I demonstrated this with a simulator that I wrote to mimic real-time data collection.
Andrew's story
Andrew Motz, a mechanical engineering and mechanical and ocean Engineering graduate student, worked in the Great Barrier Reef with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) to focus on reef monitoring and restoration.
"Working to protect our coral reefs and ocean health while living in incredible Australia with the Great Barrier Reef in my backyard was a fantastic experience that I'll take with me throughout my career and future travels."Andrew Motz
Major & Class Year
Graduate Student Mechanical Engineering; Mechanical and Ocean Engineering
Location
Townsville, QLD, Australia
MISTI Program
Internship
MISTI Host
Australian Institute of Marine Science