All work01 · Collins Aerospace · 2024
Designing a coarse filter to protect downstream fuel-control components while keeping pressure loss within system requirements.
01 / The assembled filter
01 / The assembled filter
Fuel from the main fuel pump and dual vane pump enters a system that needs protection from foreign-object debris. A coarse screen intercepts larger debris while its open area allows fuel to continue downstream. The evolving requirements ultimately emphasized FOD protection.
02 / Ring · screen · housing
The reference shows a retaining ring, a coarse grid, and a surrounding housing. As they separate here, the relationship becomes visible: the housing locates the screen, while the ring retains it. These reconstructed proportions explain the arrangement; they are not production dimensions.
03 / Illustrative fluid path
The grid interrupts the flow, so its geometry must balance debris protection and pressure loss. These smooth tracer lines illustrate fuel passing through the openings. They are explanatory animation, not a new CFD solution or a representation of calculated local velocities.
04 / System-level evaluation
I used STAR-CCM+ for CFD, NX for design updates, and hand calculations for stress. The project presentation reported 14.59 psid in full-system CFD with the filter, against a 15 psid requirement. That is an analysis result, not a physical-test measurement.
The challenge
The system required two inlet coarse filters: one receiving fuel from the main fuel pump and another from the dual vane pump. The filters needed to keep foreign-object debris out of downstream components while preserving the required flow performance.
The design problem was a balance between protection, pressure drop, packaging, and structural integrity.
My contribution
I developed the inline filter in Siemens NX, reviewed filtration guidance and materials, and assessed the design against component and system requirements. STAR-CCM+ CFD supported pressure-drop evaluation, while hand calculations addressed stress under operating loads.
The work also included layout updates, engineering documentation, and preparation for mechanical design reviews.
From the reference drawing
A rough reconstruction of the front views, mounting features, and sections in the supplied drawing. Dimensions, tolerances, and identifiers were not readable enough to reproduce.
Outcome
The design advanced through initial and preliminary mechanical design reviews, and I prepared the technical data package. The component was positioned to progress toward critical design review after my co-op.
Sources: latest résumé, end-of-co-op presentation, and LinkedIn project record. The model and drawing are portfolio illustrations reconstructed from the presentation, without verified production dimensions. Animated flow lines are explanatory and do not display computed CFD fields.
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