~/sandip-gautam

Hi, I am Sandip|

Mechanical Engineering M.S. student with experience in mechanical design, structural analysis, and thermal-fluid systems. I work across computational and experimental methods to develop, analyze, and validate engineering solutions.

Seeking early-career roles in product design, HVAC systems, and thermal-fluid engineering.

$ interests: mechanical design · thermal-fluid · HVAC · CFD · experiments
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Sandip Gautam
M.S. ME
4 Featured Projects
2+ Years of Research
FE ↗ Mechanical Passed
M.S. Mechanical Engineering
LATEST UPDATE

What I am doing recently

ALL NEWS
Young Coastal Scientists and Engineers Conference–Americas 2026 in Vancouver NEW

Poster Presentation at YCSEC-A 2026 in Vancouver

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EDUCATION

Nov 2018 – Apr 2023

Bachelor of Engineering in Aerospace Engineering

Tribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus — Lalitpur, Nepal

Fluid DynamicsAerodynamicsThermodynamicsPropulsionApplied ThermodynamicsFinite Element MethodComputational Fluid DynamicsCompressible AerodynamicsHypersonicsAdvanced Propulsion
Aug 2024 – Present

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

University of New Hampshire — Durham, NH, USA

Analytical Fluid MechanicsOcean Waves & TidesViscous FlowsAdvanced Finite Element AnalysisExperimental Fluid DynamicsTurbulenceAdvanced Mathematical Methods

SKILLS

MECHANICAL PRODUCT DESIGN

SolidWorks & CATIA V5 GD&T Design for Manufacturing BOM & Procurement Test Fixtures & Rig Design Prototype & Validation

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS (FEA)

ANSYS Mechanical Static & Dynamic Analysis Stress & Failure Assessment

THERMAL & FLUID ANALYSIS

ANSYS Fluent (CFD) Internal & External Flows Heat Transfer Modeling Turbulence Modeling Experimental Design & Analysis

PROTOTYPING, TEST & DATA

Experimental Setup & Instrumentation Sensor Calibration & Uncertainty MATLAB & Python LabVIEW Data Acquisition Hardware Troubleshooting

EXPERIENCE

ALL →
2024-08 – Present

Graduate Research Assistant

University of New Hampshire — Durham, NH

  • Design and build experimental fluid mechanics systems to investigate interactions between vortex pairs and free surfaces
  • Perform flow diagnostics using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Free Surface Synthetic Schlieren to measure subsurface velocity fields and surface deformation
  • Develop MATLAB-based analysis pipelines for optical flow processing, velocity field reconstruction, and large-scale experimental data analysis
  • Acquire and process high-resolution experimental datasets, applying signal processing and image processing techniques to extract flow features

ENGINEERING PROJECTS

ALL →
Bijuli – Powerline Inspection Fixed Wing Battery Powered UAV
PROJECT 01

Bijuli – Powerline Inspection Fixed Wing Battery Powered UAV

▣ Jun 2022 – Jan 2023 ⌘ 3 Technologies ◉ 3 Key Outcomes
AerodynamicsUAV Designxflr5
  • Designed 2.8 m span, 8 kg MTOW fixed-wing UAV using XFLR5/X-Plane to meet 50–60 km inspection range at 18 m/s cruise while maintaining positive static margin for stable autonomous flight
  • Achieved low stall speed (~3.23 m/s) and short-field performance (21.9 m takeoff, 43.4 m landing) through high aspect ratio wing (AR=10) and lift-to-drag optimization
  • Performed trim, neutral point, climb/descent, and Cooper-Harper handling analysis to validate longitudinal stability, endurance efficiency, and safe low-speed operation in mountainous terrain
Fabrication of Particle Image Velocimetry Setup at Low Reynolds Number
PROJECT 02

Fabrication of Particle Image Velocimetry Setup at Low Reynolds Number

▣ Jun 2022 – Mar 2023 ⌘ 2 Technologies ◉ 3 Key Outcomes
Mechanical DesignCATIA
  • Designed and fabricated a 40+ component modular PIV system (CATIA, structural FEA) for a 2 m towing tank, maintaining <5% blockage ratio and achieving a safety factor ≈15 under hydrostatic loading, enabling reliable low-Re aerodynamic testing.
  • Developed MATLAB-based PIV processing pipeline (FFT cross-correlation, CLAHE, vector validation) to reconstruct velocity and vorticity fields at Re = 2,000–10,000, achieving ±2% velocity measurement uncertainty and resolving laminar separation bubbles and vortex shedding.
  • Validated experimental results against ANSYS Fluent simulations, demonstrating strong agreement in separation location and velocity trends while systematically quantifying uncertainty sources (illumination, sedimentation, optical distortion).
Thermal Vacuum Chamber Design
PROJECT 03

Thermal Vacuum Chamber Design

▣ 2022 ⌘ 3 Technologies ◉ 3 Key Outcomes
ANSYSCATIAHeat Transfer
  • Engineered 900 mm diameter stainless steel thermal vacuum chamber for CubeSat qualification, performing external pressure vessel sizing per ASME Section VIII and optimizing shell thickness to 2 mm for structural efficiency
  • Led structural validation in ANSYS Mechanical, comparing head geometries and selecting a tori-spherical design with 143.98 MPa peak stress and <0.6 mm deformation under full atmospheric loading
  • Designed and integrated 1.4 kW closed-loop heating system with LN2-based cryoshroud cooling; validated thermal performance via steady-state simulation to achieve controlled satellite surface temperatures up to 46°C under vacuum
Axial Flow Compressor Design
PROJECT 04

Axial Flow Compressor Design

▣ Aug 2021 – Nov 2021 ⌘ 2 Technologies ◉ 3 Key Outcomes
Compressor designAnsys CFX
  • Designed single-stage axial compressor for 8.2 kg/s mass flow and 1.2 target pressure ratio using Python-based mean-line solver and free vortex modeling; defined blade angles, reaction, and rotor speed (~11,464 rpm) from first principles
  • Generated full 3D rotor–stator blade geometry in CATIA (NACA 65-series) and created 496k-node structured O–H mesh in ANSYS TurboGrid; conducted mesh independence validation with y+ ≈ 20
  • Executed steady RANS and transient URANS simulations in ANSYS CFX (SST k–ω), achieving 1.12 pressure ratio and ~78% isentropic efficiency while analyzing rotor–stator interaction and secondary flow losses