ENGINEERING RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS
Published Research in Computational Engineering and Simulation
Explore peer-reviewed and technical work in numerical modeling, CFD, FEA, turbomachinery, lattice structures, and advanced engineering simulation. These publications reflect the research methods and physics-based approaches behind Wakiva Engineering’s work.
Why This Page Exists
The Research Behind the Consulting
Anyone can claim expertise. We’d rather show you the work. Every publication below has gone through peer review or formal technical evaluation, and each one reflects methods we still use on client projects today, including the custom code we build for clients now. If you want to see how we actually approach a problem before you hire us, this is the place to look.
peer reviewed
Published Research
Fan Optimization Under Distorted Boundary Layer Ingesting Flow
Fan Optimization Under Distorted Boundary Layer Ingesting Flow Journal of Turbomachinery, October 2025
This paper walks through a three-phase, CFD-based optimization process for a jet engine fan under distorted inlet flow, improving fan efficiency by roughly 4 to 5 percent over baseline using boundary layer ingestion.
Tail-Cone Thruster Fan Rotor Flutter Analysis
Tail-Cone Thruster Fan Rotor Flutter Analysis NASA Glenn Research Center, Technical Memorandum, January 2024
This technical report examines the aeroelastic stability of a tail-cone thruster fan across several structural vibration modes. The study identifies the flow conditions under which the rotor becomes susceptible to flutter, and pinpoints where further modeling refinement is needed.
A Blade Altering Toolbox for Automating Rotor Design Optimization
A Blade Altering Toolbox for Automating Rotor Design Optimization Communications on Applied Mathematics and Computation, July 2023
This paper introduces the Blade Altering Toolbox (BAT), a custom tool Dr. Wernick developed to quickly reconstruct altered turbomachinery blade geometries during design optimization, automating the twisting, stretching, and mesh regeneration steps that otherwise slow down iterative design work.
Jet Engine Fan Design Optimization under Distorted Inlet Flow
Jet Engine Fan Design Optimization under Distorted Inlet Flow The Ohio State University, Doctoral Dissertation, 2023
Dr. Wernick’s dissertation developed a multi-phase approach to optimizing a jet engine fan for boundary layer ingesting inlets. It’s also where he built the Blade Altering Toolbox and validated that a simplified single-passage model could reliably stand in for a full, more computationally expensive rotor model.
Design Optimization of a Fan Blade under Boundary Layer Ingestion Flow
Design Optimization of a Fan Blade under Boundary Layer Ingestion Flow AIAA SciTech 2023 Forum, January 2023
This conference paper compares several optimization algorithms, including Tabu Search paired with Conjugate Gradient and Nelder-Mead methods, applied to a distorted-inlet fan design, achieving close to a 5 percent gain in adiabatic efficiency over baseline.
Rotor Blade Design Optimization for Boundary Layer Ingesting Inlet Fan
Rotor Blade Design Optimization for Boundary Layer Ingesting Inlet Fan AIAA SciTech 2020 Forum, January 2020
This early study applies the Response Surface Method to optimize fan blade incidence angle for a boundary layer ingesting inlet, producing meaningful efficiency gains that helped set the direction for the later work above.
engineering research
Conference Presentations & Technical Talks
"Fan Optimization Under Distorted Boundary Layer Ingesting Flow,"
"Aeromechanic Analysis and Optimization of Boundary Layer Ingestion Turbomachinery,"
"Design Optimization of a Fan Blade under Boundary Layer Ingestion Flow,"
"Aeromechanic Analysis and Optimization of Boundary Layer Ingestion Turbomachinery,"
"Aeromechanic Analysis and Optimization of Boundary Layer Ingestion Turbomachinery,"
"Aeromechanic Analysis and Optimization of Boundary Layer Ingestion Turbomachinery,"
"Rotor Blade Design Optimization for Boundary Layer Ingesting Inlet Fan,"
"Aeromechanic Analysis and Optimization of Boundary Layer Ingestion Turbomachinery,"
"Aeromechanic Analysis and Optimization of Boundary Layer Ingestion Turbomachinery,"
Ready to Put This Research to Work on Your Project?
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The methods behind these papers are the same ones we bring to every client project, sized to fit your problem, your timeline, and your budget.