Andrew Welter

Andrew Welter is a graduate student in aeronautics and astronautics whose research predicts the onset of hypersonic boundary layer transition in high-enthalpy flows. Surface heating and material deformation critical to hypersonic vehicle design depend on complex boundary layer physics. He uses Exasim, a MATLAB-based direct numerical simulation framework, to resolve boundary layer instabilities responsible for triggering turbulent transition. His master’s research isolated the effects of spanwise curvature on boundary layer instability development and now extends to high-enthalpy regimes requiring coupled fluid dynamics and finite-rate chemistry simulations relevant to atmospheric reentry vehicles. To validate these simulations, Andrew conducts hypersonic wind tunnel campaigns in collaboration with the University of Tennessee Space Institute and leverages the U.S. Department of Energy Frontier and Tuolumne supercomputers for massively parallel simulations. As a MathWorks Fellow, Andrew will continue to explore the effects of higher enthalpies on hypersonic boundary layer transition. His work could advance understanding of boundary layer transition at reentry conditions, informing next-generation vehicle design.