Dr. Bruno Moorthamers

Aerospace Engineer

Dr. Moorthamers is an expert on subsonic aerodynamics and low-fidelity methods. In his dissertation he studied and compared the aerodynamic efficiency of different types of wing sweep in inviscid flow using lifting-line and panel codes over a wide range of planform designs. For his master’s thesis, he spent one year full-time at Airbus’ Future Projects Office in Hamburg, researching, designing, and sizing an airliner with over-the-wing turbofans. He has experience developing in-house tools using Python and MATLAB for the purposes of aerodynamic research, aircraft design and optimization. He has experience with commercial computational fluid dynamics codes of varying degrees of fidelity including FlightStream® and STAR-CCM+ and commercial CAD packages including CATIA, Solidworks, and Pro/Engineer. He gained significant experience in airfoil design and wind tunnel testing as an aerodynamics engineer on the solar car team of Delft University of Technology, and has consulted for a team participating in the GoFly competition for personal air vehicles.

Professional Preparation

  • Utah State University, Aerospace Engineering: Ph.D., 2021
  • Delft University of Technology, Aerospace Engineering: M.S., 2014
  • Delft University of Technology, Aerospace Engineering: B.S., 2010

Publications

  • B. Moorthamers and W.A. Anemaat, “Multhopp’s Method for the Pitching Moment of Bodies Revisited,” AIAA Paper 2023-0033, presented at 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum, National Harbor, MD, January 23-27, 2023.
  • W.A. Anemaat, K.A. Brewer, D.T. Darrah, J.F. Ink, W. Liu and B. Moorthamers, “Design, Build and Testing of the MAVRIK with Distributed Electric Propulsion,” AIAA Paper 6.2022-3201, presented at 2022 AIAA Aviation Forum, Chicago, IL, June 27-July 1, 2022.
  • W.A. Anemaat, D. Darrah, B. Moorthamers and W. Liu, “Modeling and Optimization of Propulsion Systems for eVTOL Aircraft,” VFS Paper 1181, presented at VFS Forum 78, May 10-12, 2022.
  • B. Moorthamers, D. Wiberg and D.F. Hunsaker, “Estimation of Incompressible Swept-Wing Aerodynamics Using Low-Fidelity Methods,” AIAA Paper 2021-1825, presented at AIAA Scitech 2021 Forum, Virtual Event, January 11-15 and 19-21, 2021.
  • D.F. Hunsaker, B. Moorthamers and J.J. Joo, “Minimum-series twist distributions for yawing-moment control during pure roll,” ZAMM-Journal of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics/Zeitschrift für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik, Vo. 101, Issue 10, e201900177.
  • B. Moorthamers and D.F. Hunsaker, “Accuracy of Küchemann’s Prediction for the Locus of Aerodynamic Centers on Swept Wings,” AIAA Paper 2020-0533, presented at AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum, Orlando, FL, January 6-10, 2020.
  • D.F. Hunsaker, B. Moorthamers and J.J. Joo, “Minimum-Frequency Spanwise Twist for Yawing-Moment Control During Roll,” AIAA Paper 2019-2917, presented at AIAA Aviation 2019 Forum, Dallas, TX, June 17-21, 2019.
  • B. Moorthamers and D.F. Hunsaker, “Aerodynamic Center at the Root of Swept, Elliptic Wings in Inviscid Flow,” AIAA Paper 2019-0032, presented at AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum, San Diego, CA, January 7-11, 2019.
  • D.F. Hunsaker, J.T. Reid, B. Moorthamers and J.J. Joo, “Geometry and Aerodynamic Performance of Parabolic Trailing-Edge Flaps,” AIAA Paper 2018-1278, presented at the 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Kissimmee, FL, January 8-12, 2018.