What were the final goals of your project?

My main project was testing the capabilities of using a FDM 3D printer for small-scale rotor blade creation.

Describe what you did during the internship.

To test the printer, I created a family of various thickness rotor blades based on different NACA airfoil characterizations and then printed two of each, one with a carbon fiber spar and one without. each blade was then tested for its chord-wise accuracy and structurally tested using a cantilever beam test.

Did you achieve your goals? What were the results?

Once the tests were conducted, I was able to determine some specific failures of the printer as well as best practices for printing rotor blades in the future. I was able to determine “EI” values for each blade and therefore characterized the structural abilities of the printer and materials.

Describe positive lessons learned.

There were many very positive lessons I learned throughout this internship. First and foremost I learned the motivation and joy that comes from a positive work environment such as the aeromechanics branch at NASA Ames! I learned how positive the impact is on reaching young kids. I learned what it means to be an employee not only for the government but industry-wide. I learned more about myself and my future aspirations. These are only a few of the many many lessons I learned at my internship, but it’s from this internship and the lessons I learned there that will lead me to the job I hope to have in the future!

Describe negative lessons learned.

I had to think long and hard about this question and the negative things I might have encountered during my internship, and the only thing that can come to mind is the impact a mission statement has on an organization. let me explain. At my old internship, the goal was to create a good product to sell, not a bad goal, but while working with NASA the goal was to better humanity through innovation, a much better goal. This is where I learned that the world operates often out of selfish desire and therefore it led me to think about the position I hope to be in one day.