Tiffany Boarts
Research Engineer
Education
B.A., Mathematics, Washington and Jefferson College, 2002
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2002
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2004
Experience
Ms. Boarts joined MR&D in January 2004. Currently, she is evaluating processing stresses in carbon-carbon exit cones during carbonization, which result from thermal stress as well as thermochemical decomposition and pore pressure. The decomposition model can be determined from Thermogravimetric analysis data, by assuming the Arrhenius kinetic equation can describe the chemical reactions. This decomposition model can then be used in the Process Environment Model (PEM) developed by Fred Clayton at SAIC to compute the transient pore pressures in the composite. She is also using PEM to perform decomposition and ablation analyses on C/Ph frustas for the Navy.
Ms. Boarts was also a member of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Wing Leading Edge RCC NOAX Repair team. She used TGA data to develop decomposition models for NOAX and used the models to develop a 1D MATLAB code that simulates decomposition and oxidation behavior of NOAX coupled with transient heat transfer for temperatures up to 1650°C.
Ms. Boarts has performed multiple heat transfer analyses for CMC hot structure control surfaces for next generation reusable launch vehicles. These heat transfer analyses primarily involved correlation of finite element model results to measured experimental data by refining previous models as well as investigating thermal boundary conditions in the test environment.
Prior to joining MR&D, Ms. Boarts performed her master’s thesis research in conjunction with NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. This research involved the investigation of slurry infiltrated fiberwoven SiC/SiC composite materials, coupling experimental and numerical approaches to develop a computational fluid dynamics model using FIDAP that identifies and optimizes essential elements of the infiltration process. A parametric numerical study modeled the infiltration process by incorporating variation on a d’Arcy permeability model within FIDAP.