Leslie Weller
Senior Research Engineer
Education
B.E., Mechanical Engineering, Villanova University, May 2003
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Villanova University, December 2006
Experience
Leslie joined MR&D in July of 2003. Most recently, she has served as a co-investigator on a subcontract with Jacobs ESTS Group for Prime Contract # NNM05AB50C with NASA MSFC. In this effort, she performed a materials trade study investigating various domestically available 2D fabric reinforced carbon-carbon (C-C) options for the J-2X nozzle extension. Combined thermal and mechanical analyses, as well as buckling analyses are performed for a number of material systems, utilizing existing baseline nozzle geometry and loading conditions. C-C nozzle extension design recommendations are made based on calculated Margins of Safety, nozzle extension weight, and fabrication costs. Ms. Weller has presented her work on the J-2X at both the 35th Annual Conference on Composites, Materials and Structures (Cape Canaveral, FL, January 2011) and at the National Space and Missile Materials Symposium (Scottsdale, AZ, June 2010).
Leslie has also served as the principle investigator for MR&D’s effort as a subcontractor with Ultramet, Inc. for an Air Force Research Laboratory Phase I SBIR titled “High Temperature Structural Insulation for Extended Range C-C Aeroshell Hypersonic Vehicles.” In this effort, Ms. Weller performed analytical design tasks, including finite element modeling, transient heat transfer, and thermal and structural analyses to determine geometries and properties of Ultramet’s aerogel filled foam insulations that maintain an acceptable substructure temperature for a C-C aeroshell design.
Ms. Weller also served as principle investigator for a NASA SBIR titled “Innovative Reduced Mass Thermal Protection System (TPS) Designs for Human-Rated Aeroassist Vehicles.” This work involved development of alternative TPS designs for the base heat shield of a CEV-like vehicle reducing the mass fraction of the base heat shield 25-50% through the use of a CMC backup structure as the primary material candidate. Tasks completed include a materials trade study identifying minimum weight alternative TPS as well as a number of analyses performed on a detailed math model of a CEV-like vehicle that includes a CMC box-structure as the aeroshell.
Ms. Weller also served as principal investigator in the design of C/SiC Deployable Hot Structure Decelerator (DHSD) Technology Demonstrator under a contract with Snecma Propulsion Solide of Bordeaux, France as part of NASA’s Exploration Systems Research and Technology (ESR&T) program. Ms. Weller conducted a geometric trade study based on weight constraints, manufacturing constraints, and mechanical loading in order to identify desirable geometries. Detailed analyses were subsequently performed on a multi-panel DHSD model which included transient heat transfer as well as combined thermal, static pressure, acceleration, and random loading at appropriate times in the trajectory.
Ms. Weller has worked on the contract with University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) entitled “Hot Aeroshell to Cool Internal Structure Attachment Design” as part of the Falcon DARPA Materials Integrated Product Team (MIPT) effort. This work involved designing an acreage TPS for the enhanced common aero vehicle (ECAV) and the hypersonic cruise vehicle (HCV) consisting of a refractory composite material as the hot aeroshell, joined to a cooler internal structure by an attachment system. Leslie has worked on detailed stress and component sizing analyses at room temperature and elevated temperature aeropressure and acoustic cases for a facesheet-core-facesheet design and a rib-stiffened CMC aeroshell design composed of C/SiC, C-C and oxide-oxide materials. Leslie also assisted in completing data correlations with acreage TPS designs and testing previously done during the NASP program.
Ms. Weller has been involved with the Boeing X-37program. She has designed vibration test fixtures for C/SiC structural elements and C/SiC hot structure control surface subcomponent test articles (HSCS STA). She has also witnessed testing at NASA Langley Research Center and NASA Dryden Research Center of C/SiC HSCS STA through a series of tests under different loads, including Random Vibration, Acoustic, Thermal, and Mechanical. Ms. Weller has been involved in the finite element modeling of the HSCS and participated in the post-test data correlation of this data. Leslie performed strructural analyses, thermal stress analyses, steady-state and transient heat transfer analyses, random vibration analyses, and acoustic analyses on full scale models as well as sub-component models of the C/SiC HSCS.