AARON PEREIRA
Mechanical Engineering / Portfolio

Modelling,
Analysis,
Engineering.

MSc Mechanical Engineering student at TU Delft, specialising in Energy, Flow and Process Technology. My work combines computational modelling, simulation and analysis to investigate complex engineering systems.

Explore my work
SCRAPED SURFACE HEAT EXCHANGER
HOT INNER WALL → COOL OUTER WALL · CONCEPTUAL FLOW
Selected work / 01—08

Engineering projects

Selected computational, experimental and process-design projects spanning thermal engineering, fluid dynamics and material behaviour.

Project 01 figure
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PROJECT 01

Micro Pin-Fin Heat Sink: Multiphysics Cooling

COMSOL Multiphysics · Conjugate heat transfer

What I did

Developed a coupled 3D flow and heat-transfer model of a micro pin-fin heat sink for high-heat-flux microprocessor hotspots. Compared inlet velocity, fin diameter and spacing, while assessing temperature, pressure drop and pumping power.

Key findings

A 1.2 m/s inlet velocity and 100 µm pin gap offered the best reported compromise between hotspot cooling and pumping requirements.

COMSOLHeat transferParametric study
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PROJECT 02

Electric Vehicle Battery Pack Thermal Management

Queen Mary University of London · BEng Thesis · CFD

What I did

Modelled forced-air cooling of cylindrical lithium-ion battery packs in ANSYS Fluent using 2D and 3D CFD. Investigated how cell spacing and inlet velocity affect airflow distribution and battery temperatures.

Key findings

A 1 mm cell gap restricted airflow and produced pronounced temperature peaks; larger spacing and higher inlet velocity improved thermal uniformity.

ANSYS FluentCFDBattery cooling
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PROJECT 03

Rheology: Viscoelasticity and Constitutive Modelling

Three assignments · Experimental data and numerical models

What I did

Analysed amplitude and frequency sweeps, storage and loss moduli, Lissajous curves and nonlinear material response. Applied Fourier filtering and fitted Cross, Maxwell and related constitutive models; also explored thixotropy and jamming.

Key findings

Identified a yield onset near 2.125% strain and flow crossover near 14.31% in amplitude testing. Shampoo data gave a relaxation time of 34.36 ms and a Cross-model zero-shear viscosity estimate of 9.0 Pa·s (R² = 0.9957).

PythonRheometryModel fitting
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PROJECT 04

From HTL Gas to Dimethyl Carbonate

Process and power plant design · Group project

What I did

Designed a process route to convert CO₂-rich hydrothermal-liquefaction off-gas into dimethyl carbonate, including gas clean-up, reforming, reverse water-gas shift, methanol synthesis, DMC production, separation and heat integration.

Key findings

Developed a process flowsheet and preliminary utility/OPEX assessment; identified substantial remaining heating and cooling duties and opportunities for further heat integration.

Aspen PlusProcess designHeat integration
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PROJECT 05

Calcium Ammonium Nitrate: Crystallization Plant Design

Equipment for heat and mass transfer · Group project

What I did

Designed a continuous fertilizer production process around a draft-tube-baffle evaporative crystallizer, supported by mass and energy balances, equipment sizing and heat-exchanger selection.

Key findings

The design targeted 315 tonnes/hour of 200 µm crystals, with a 416 m³ crystallizer, 40-minute residence time and an estimated 144.48 MW external steam duty.

CrystallizationEquipment sizingMass balance
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PROJECT 06

Dynamic Thermal Modelling of a Building

Buildings as Energy Systems · MATLAB

What I did

Extended a multi-node building heat-balance model to represent façade and structural thermal mass. Simulated indoor, wall and façade temperatures under summer/winter conditions and scheduled heating, cooling and internal gains.

Key findings

The simulations showed delayed wall-temperature response after HVAC shutoff, demonstrating thermal inertia and its effect on indoor conditions.

MATLABThermal modellingBuilding energy
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PROJECT 07

Numerical CFD: Diffusion and Advection–Diffusion

Computational fluid dynamics · Finite differences · Group project

What I did

Developed finite-difference formulations for two-dimensional diffusion and advection–diffusion problems, including boundary conditions, explicit time integration, upwind advection and central-difference diffusion. Investigated transient concentration transport through a maze and temperature transport in a circulating velocity field.

Key findings

The maze simulations illustrated transient diffusion pathways and concentration gradients. For the circulating-flow case, the 20 × 20 grid reached the specified steady-state residual threshold after approximately 47.92 seconds of simulated time; grid refinement showed substantially improved agreement by 60 × 60 cells.

PythonFinite differencesAdvection–diffusion
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PROJECT 08

Ford Diesel Throttle Assembly: Materials Selection

Automotive engineering · Materials and manufacturing case study

What I did

Evaluated candidate materials and manufacturing processes for the throttle body, adapter and seals of a 2.0-litre diesel engine. Used CES Materials Selector and performance criteria covering dimensional stability, thermal expansion, strength, fuel resistance, mass-production feasibility and cost over a −40 to 140 °C operating range.

Key findings

Selected die-cast aluminium for the throttle body due to dimensional stability and cost, HNBR for the seals due to fuel resistance and sealing performance, and 30% glass-fibre-reinforced polyetherimide for the injection-moulded adapter.

CES Materials SelectorAutomotiveMaterials engineering
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