Bio
Brandon Tran completed his PhD in mechanical engineering in August of 2023. He was a prior doctoral graduate student at the University of Florida in the Micro Air Vehicle and Material Stress Analysis Lab, specialized in classical and advanced mechanics of materials, particularly in composite and smart material technology. His engineering career commenced in 2013 as an undergraduate at Oregon State University, where he conducted research and worked as a contracted employee for Hewlett-Packard in the Applied Mechanics and Composites Technology Lab under the guidance of Dr. Roberto Albertani. During this time, he also served as the president of the Mechanical Engineering honors society Pi Tau Sigma and held the position of structural lead in the Hybrid Rocket Team. In 2017, Brandon completed his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering with a minor in aerospace engineering. Subsequently, he joined the University of Florida as a graduate researcher under the supervision of Dr. Peter G. Ifju. During his tenure at the university, Brandon was honored with the Knox T. Millsaps award for his outstanding performance as a teaching assistant during the academic year 2021-2022. As a researcher, he was involved in designing autonomous morphing micro air vehicles for the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and conducting material property investigations for various principal investigators. Brandon has since completed his doctoral dissertation titled Characterization and Modeling of Macro-Fiber Composite on Anisotropic Substrates with Nonlinear-Thermal Considerations.
Professional Experience
Composites Engineer
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States
Dec 2023 - Present
Store Cashier
T. P. Produce Inc, Portland, Oregon, United State
Aug 2023 - Nov 2023
▪ Managed inventory of several items and oversaw process workflow for customer delivery.
Graduate Research And Teaching Assistant
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States
Jan 2018 - Aug 2023
▪ Developed finite element method code using MATLAB and Python for analytical solution to nonlinear piezoelectric kinematics benchmarked with experimentation with less than 5% relative error.
▪ Developed a unique carbon fiber biomimetic small unmanned air vehicle with piezoelectric actuated control surfaces for morphing attenuation funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research; SolidWorks used to model complex surface geometry for CNC manufacturing with CAM.
▪ Acquired strength characteristics and elastic material properties of 100+ different structures and material specimens using universal testing machines (UTM) and digital image correlation (DIC).
▪ Developed a novel uniaxial test method for acquiring pure shear properties of composite laminas with topology optimization using Abaqus.
▪ Fabricated 50+ composite laminate structures using layup scheduling, wet layups, prepreg layups, mold production, autoclave operation, oven operation, vacuum bagging, and resin infusion.
▪ Published 3+ journal papers and 6+ conference proceedings on research related work.
▪ Presented 5+ presentations at Society of Experimental Mechanics international conferences and graduate symposiums on research related work.
▪ Lectured 10+ classes full of prospective engineering students on core solid mechanic principles composites, mechanics of materials, aerospace structures) including Euler beam theory, buckling analysis, Mohr's Circle, failure analysis, etc.
▪ Maintained testing equipment (UTM, digital image correlation optical equipment), fabrication equipment (autoclave, vacuum bag, etc.), and unmanned air systems.
▪ Trained personnel on use of lab equipment and safety including manufacturing tools, universal
testing machines, measurement devices, and digital image correlation equipment.
Engineering Intern
Miles Fiberglass & Composites Inc., Happy Valley, Oregon, United States
Sep 2017 - Dec 2017
▪ Fabricated 3+ major molds for composite fabrication reproduction on vehicle frames, wastewater tanks, and Department of Defense commissions using a wooden base.
▪ Designed and prototyped a composite rooftile chute using computer aided design (SolidWorks), engineering drawings, and assembly storyboarding; strength analysis done using FEMAP in accordance to OSHA standard 1926.852.
Undergraduate Research: Electric Tethered Observation Platform
Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States
Sep 2015 - Jan 2017
• Developed a novel 3-D printed tethered micro air vehicle with a ground control station to supply near infinite flight power; parts were printed from SolidWorks CAD files.
• Conducted wind tunnel test to observe flight dynamics of vehicle under horizontal aerodynamic loading.
• Published and presented research paper related to tethered drone to the AIAA Region IV Student Conference 2017.
Awards
2022 Knox T. Millsaps Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year
Issued by University of Florida - College of Engineering: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department · Jun 2022
Cum Laude
OSU Institutional cumulative GPA & credits: Cum Laude = 3.50+ (Orange cord)
Dean’s List Academic Achievement Award
Issued by College of Engineering · Sep 2016
Education
University of Florida
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Mechanical Engineering - Jan 2018 - Aug 2023
- Dissertation Title: Characterization and Modeling of Macro-Fiber Composite on Anisotropic Substrates With Nonlinear-Thermal Considerations
Oregon State University
Bachelor of Science - BS, Mechanical Engineering (Major), Aerospace Engineering (Minor) - 2013 - 2017
Professional Affiliations
Society of Experimental Mechanics
Member · Jul 2020 - Present
Specialized Equipment
- Universal Testing Machines
- HPC
- Digital Image Correlation
- Strain Measurement Devices
- Material Manufacturing Equipment
- Mills, lathes, tablesaw, etc.
- CNC
- Autoclaves
Other Publications
Screening significant properties of macro-fiber composite laminate substrate anisotropy with viscoelastic and thermal considerations at the quasi-static level
IOP Science · Nov 29, 2023
A macro fiber composite (MFC) is a class of smart material actuator that employs piezoceramic fibers to extend or contract under an applied electric field. When embedded on a thin substrate, actuated MFCs induce surface pressure, resulting in out-of-plane motion. Design characteristics of the substrate, such as anisotropy, give rise to unique bend/twist behavior. Previous studies on MFC applications have focused on optimizing patch location in relation to the local design to achieve optimal bend/twist motion. However, the resolution to these approaches is restricted to the design space of the application, presenting an absence in piezoelectric laminate design intuition. This research aims to streamline the initial optimization process by analyzing the significant material properties associated with substrate design. To accomplish this, a viscoelastic piezoelectric plate theory model is developed to accurately capture the displacement behavior of the MFC laminate for any given substrate design. Experimental data is used to validate and refine the model, ensuring it closely represents real-world physics. A 2k fractional factorial design of experiments approach is used to identify significant substrate properties per MFC laminate configuration, assigning each material property a two-level coding system. Three configurations are observed, with each exhibiting distinct significant properties and effects compared to others. Furthermore, the study explores the impact of thermal factors on substrate behavior for these MFC laminates, highlighting how significant properties can be temperature dependent. The contributions to the kinematic response due to substrate property perturbation varies uniquely per material property and MFC laminate configuration. Statistical evidence supports the notion that the hysteretic behavior of a material is unaffected by thermal influences and is solely determined by the elastic constants of the substrate....
Design Study of Outboard Wing Incorporating MFC for a Morphing VehicleDesign Study of Outboard Wing Incorporating MFC for a Morphing Vehicle
Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures · Oct 25, 2022
A novel biomimetic morphing micro aerial vehicle was designed using macro fiber composites (MFCs) as control actuators. The vehicle features variable-sweep, multi-curved wings, and a tail, both of which were embedded with MFC bimorphs. The wing design has a span of 1.1 m unswept (wings fully extended) and 0.65 m swept, resembling falcons (Falco Peregrinus). A design study was conducted on the outboard wing’s MFC and carbon fiber substrate orientation to enhance the roll authority of the wings when fully extended. Finite element modeling, wind tunnel testing, and flight testing were conducted to model and optimize the design to obtain linear aerodynamic control with given MFC deflections. In addition, this research explores several configurations to increase roll authority of MFCs using segmented and overlapped sections resembling avian feathers. An overlapped wing configuration was discovered to have the potential to increase roll authority at the expense of adverse yaw. Flight testing proved that MFC-actuated, continuous outboard wings provide sufficient roll authority and handling quality without added compensation for the non-linear behavior of MFCs. This research showed that MFCs can be incorporated into a morphing wing design for manual flight and autonomous flight through feedback from inertial sensors onboard the vehicle.