Luke Pritchard

Propulsion and Test Engineering

Projects

JSC Hybrid Rocket Engine

  • 330 lbf peak thrust
  • ~150 s specific impulse (est.)
  • 960 psig chamber pressure
PropulsionTest Ops

1000 lbf Test Stand & In-Place Calibration

  • Withstood 330 lbf thrust (FOS ≥ 3.0)
  • Inline 1000 lbf load cell with T-feed plumbing
  • Compact screw-jack calibration rig
StructuresTest OpsCalibration

UVA Sounding Rocket — Propulsion Integration

  • First successful solid-motor launch at UVA
  • ~4,000 ft field limit
  • Laser-cut birch rings, FEA-checked
PropulsionStructuresTest Ops

Langley: Stratford Nozzles & MCV Calibration

  • On-site calibration for multi-critical venturis (MCVs)
  • ~$50k/yr avoided vendor costs
  • Stable choked-flow reference with Stratford nozzles
FluidsCalibration

Modal Propellant Gauging (Data Collection)

  • Vibrate tank, read its “signature,” infer fill level
  • FFT feature tracking on hot-fire datasets
  • Practical limits & mitigation notes
SensorsTest Ops

BIER Lab: Soft Robotic Leech

  • Tendon-driven motion
  • Clear traveling wave up to 2 Hz
  • Arduino control
Robotics

BIER Lab: 1/25th-Scale Water Channel Model

  • Display + teaching model
  • First-pass loads & safety
  • Power at 2 m/s flow
StructuresCFD

BIER Lab: Schooling Tuna & Orca CFD

  • Schooling efficiency deltas
  • Orca fin sweep effects
  • AMR, in-house solver
CFD