Andres Garcia Jimenez

Andres Garcia Jimenez is a PhD candidate in aeronautics and astronautics whose research interests lie at the intersection of materials science, mechanics, and aerospace engineering. Specifically, Andres is working to elucidate the mechanisms that drive frictional ignition of engineering alloys in high-pressure oxygen environments, such as those encountered in next- generation staged combustion rocket engines. These engines offer propellant efficiency without sacrificing thrust capability but pose challenges such as frictional heating due to the rubbing of rotating components. Andres’s work examines the causes of frictional ignition through experiments, contact mechanics theory, and metallurgical thermochemistry. MATLAB has been an essential tool for Andres in building multi-physics models and analyzing experimental data. Recently, Andres identified a specific material, Inconel MA754, as uniquely ignition-resistant, and is working to refine the processing and performance of this material. Engine designers at Blue Origin and SpaceX are now using Andres’s work to guide their materials selection and engine design, and his research is paving the way toward advanced fail-safe rocket engines and new alloy compositions resistant to frictional ignition under extreme operating conditions.