Self-Assessment – Luis San Andrés
Mast-Childs TRIBOLOGY Professor,
ASME Fellow, STLE Fellow
December 2005
Research Accomplishments
Luis San Andrés has advanced significant
progress in the analysis and experimental parameter identification of squeeze
film dampers for air-breathing engines and damper seals for industrial
compressors. Major progress has resulted from the analysis and experimental
verification of the forced performance of squeeze film dampers due to the
effects of feeding grooves, fluid inertia and most importantly, air ingestion
and entrapment at high speed operation. Two NSF awards allowed Dr. San Andrés and
his students to experimentally quantify the effect of air ingestion on
the dynamic force performance of industrial dampers and to develop empirically
based models for prediction of damper behavior.
Luis San Andrés has made enduring
contributions to the technology development of hybrid fluid film bearings for
applications in primary power space turbopumps.
His research includes the analysis and experimental validation of hybrid
radial and thrust bearings and two-phase fluid seals for cryogenic applications,
and high speed gas (grooved) face seals and bearings. About 22 industries use
his HYDRO family of codes for prediction of dynamic forced performance of fluid
film bearing and dampers in conjunction with rotordynamic design tools.
In 2000, Dr. Luis San Andrés initiated research
to advance the technology of gas bearings for oil-free turbomachinery. Micro-turbomachinery demands gas bearings to
ensure compactness, lightweight and extreme temperature operation. Gas bearings
with large stiffness and damping, and preferably of low cost, will enable
successful commercial applications.
Students of the Tribology Group are conducting analysis and verifying
the rotordynamic performance of grooved gas bearings, foil bearings and tilting
pad bearings for rotors in micro gas turbine engines and high-speed spindles.
Recently, the ASME International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) awarded Dr. San
Andrés, and former M.S. student, Deborah Wilde, the 2003 Best Rotordynamics
Paper for their contributions to gas bearing analysis and experimental
validation. In 2004, Student Dario Rubio and L. San Andrés received the IGTI 2004
Best Paper award for their work on the identification of stiffness in foil
bearings.
Dr. Luis San Andrés has advanced
physical models and fast computational programs aiming to improve the design
and rotordynamic performance of passenger vehicle turbochargers. Honeywell
International has funded the computational and experimental research program
since 1999. Major achievements include the construction of a high speed 240
krpm test rig with notable advances in vibration measurement using fiber optics
sensors and computational programs giving to the sponsor substantial savings in product development and
prototype testing.
Teaching Accomplishments
Dr. San Andrés is a dedicated teacher
who has contributed to the departmental mission by educating undergraduate and
graduate students. His teaching goal is to prepare students to become
responsible engineers, self-motivated and independent individuals able to solve
actual problems and to provide leadership in the technical world. In class he
stresses the need for the keen observation of nature and its behavior,
searching for the root cause of measured or observed effects. Once the student
"visualizes" (establishes) the problem by virtue of applying
fundamental physical laws, he/she devises the mathematical model governing the
dynamics of the system or its components.
Dr. San Andrés has always been ahead in
instructional technology taking advantage of the World Wide Web. He was the
first MEEN faculty to ever develop an URL site (1992, Rotordynamics
Laboratory). His web page designs and contents have served as models by other faculty
at TAMU and elsewhere. Through the years, Luis has attended many training
seminars and workshop given by the TAMU Center of Teaching Excellence. Dr. San
Andrés is also one of the few COE faculty to develop
and maintain a comprehensive Teaching Portfolio.
Dr. San Andrés maintains current a number of URL sites displaying
class content and computer programs for both graduate and undergraduate
courses. Luis also has fabricated a number of experimental demonstrations for
his undergraduate and graduate classes. Graduate students and course
instructors from several institutions use the lecture
material and computational programs for the Vibrations and Lubrication classes.
Some of the users (academic and industry) are in
In 1998, Dr.
San Andrés was distinguished with a departmental Outstanding Graduate Teaching
Award. Refer to Dr. Luis San Andrés Teaching Portfolio for a detailed
description of his teaching methods, teaching assessment and feedback, and
philosophy for both undergraduate and graduate education. Since 1992, each year
Luis has hosted minority undergraduate students conducting Research for
Undergraduate Experiences (
Accomplishments in Service
Dr. Luis San Andrés is a notable role
model for the Hispanic community through his demonstrated many accomplishments.
He has graduated 2 Ph.D. and 9 M.S. Hispanic students and three M.S. female
students. Currently he is the elected Vice President of the TAMU Professional
Hispanic Network and a founding member of the Mexican American US Latino
Faculty Association. Dr. San Andrés has established research and student
exchange programs with Universities in
Luis San Andrés has served diligently
ASME and STLE since his graduate student days. He has volunteered time to
review manuscripts and expertise in various technical committees, to organize
and to chair technical sessions, and eventually organizing and chairing whole
conferences. After 12 years of service, Luis is presently the Chairman of the
Structures and Dynamics Committee for the International Gas Turbine Institute.
Dr. San Andrés escalated through the ropes in the ASME Tribology Division
culminating with him being the Conference Chairman of the I World Tribology
Congress (
Luis San Andrés is privileged to have
trained outstanding graduate students who have contributed greatly to the
advancement of fluid film bearing fundamentals. Former students, Dr. Sergio
Diaz and Ms. Deborah Wilde were awarded the 2003 and 2004 Young Investigator
Awards in Tribology, respectively. Incidentally, Ms. Nicole Zirkelback
was awarded a TAMU Best Graduate Student Award in 1998. In 2003, Dr. Zirkelback, currently at Lockheed-Martin Aeronautics, was
named Most Promising Engineer in the
Advanced Degree category of the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement
Awards. The graduate work of the former
students at TAMU merited the ASME International and HENAAC recognitions.
Luis San Andrés has also contributed to
the diffusion of Latin music in the local music scene. He and other TAMU
faculty have formed two bands, VIRU
(1992-1998) and Roca Azul (2000-date), playing regularly in B/CS and
TAMU cultural events. Roca Azul toured
several Latin American countries in the summers of 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Luis San Andrés summarizes the number of publications and research
funds received (all competitive).
|
Peer
reviewed Journal Publications |
107+15 |
90+
co-authored with students |
|
Students
graduated |
16 (4 Ph.D., 12 M.S.) 11 UG Senior Theses |
11 GS
minority: 8 Hispanic, 3 female |
|
Research Funding |
|
3
patents, 4 software copyrights |
|
External
(Federal) |
$ 1,381,637 |
NSF (3
projects), NASA, Texas ATP |
|
External
(Industry) |
$ 1,915,393 |
Rocketdyne, GE, Honeywell, |
|
Turbomachinery
Research Consortium |
$ 1,018,580 |
(*)
grad student support only |
|
Support
for equipment, UG research grants, gifts |
$
321,240 |
|
|
Total |
$ 4’315,610 |
$
238,604 (15 years) |
REFERENCES
Teaching
portfolio, Rotordynamics Laboratory, Courses content: http://www.mengr.tamu.edu/research/sanandres/index.html
Professional Hispanic Network: http://phn.tamu.edu
Roca Azul http://phn.tamu.edu/Roca_Azul