JUAN MORALES-LOPEZ
ASTRONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

ADVANCING THE REACH OF HUMAN SPACE EXPLORATION

Juan Morales-Lopez | Astronautical Engineering @ USC Viterbi

Bridging flight hardware fabrication, composite manufacturing, and propulsion fluid dynamics to expand human presence beyond low Earth orbit.

VIEW WORK ↓ CONTACT
Juan Morales-Lopez
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01 // CHASSIS ENCLOSURE & COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING

Tubular Chassis Panel Packaging, Wet Layups & Rapid Dzus Fastening (SCFE26)

USC FORMULA ELECTRIC · CAR 26

  • Handled panel envelope definition and physical fitment against tubular steel chassis SCFE26.
  • Executed 2-ply carbon fiber layups (nosecone, hood, side panels) and 3-ply fiberglass layups (rear sections) with vacuum debulking.
  • Manufactured sandwich composite floorboards integrating Nomex honeycomb cores (1/4" and 1/2") for high specific stiffness.
  • Installed flush 13 mm Dzus quarter-turn fasteners aligned to chassis weld tabs for rapid sub-2-minute panel removal during competition tech inspections.
Composite wet layup and vacuum debulking
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01  Composite wet layup & vacuum bag debulking under full seal in workshop
Cured composite test panels
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02  Cured composite test panels prepped for perimeter edge trimming
Chassis tube clearance and contour fit-check
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03  Chassis tube clearance & contour fit-check on SCFE26 frame
Flush-mounted Dzus fastener installation
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04  Flush-mounted 13 mm Dzus quarter-turn fastener installation
Front wing assembly and tech inspection verification at competition
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05  Front wing assembly & tech inspection verification at competition
02 // PRODUCTION DRAWINGS & GD&T RELEASES

Interpreting Physical Chassis Geometry to Toleranced CAD & Machine Drawings

Generated formal manufacturing drawing packages in Siemens NX for CNC aluminum machining and laser/waterjet panel cutting, establishing datum reference frames, positional tolerances, and composite ply schedules under ASME Y14.5-2018.

SCFE263203 & SCFE263303
RELEASED

Wing Mounting Brackets

SCFE263203 Front Wing Bracket · SCFE263303 Rear Wing Bracket

MATERIAL
Aluminum 6061-T6
GD&T CALLOUTS
⊥0.010APerpendicularity
⌖0.005ABDTrue position, hole callouts
0.275" gap spacing for Heim joint clearance.
↗ SCFE263203.pdf ↗ SCFE263303.pdf
SCFE263305 / 3306 / 3307
RELEASED

Structural Floorboard Assemblies

CORE
2-ply carbon fiber skin with 1/4" and 1/2" Nomex honeycomb core sandwich construction.
APPLICATION
Driver cockpit floor, chassis floor, and undertray structural panels.
↗ 263305-001.pdf ↗ 263306-001.pdf ↗ 263307-001.pdf
03 // PROPULSION TURBOMACHINERY CASCADE SIMULATION

USC Liquid Propulsion Lab (Aorta Turbopump Subteam)

TURBINE CASCADE CFD · ANSYS FLUENT

Structured quad-dominant domain with inflation prism layers
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Structured quad-dominant domain with fine inflation prism layers along blade wall and periodic boundary interfaces in Ansys Meshing
Relative Mach number contour in Ansys Fluent
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Solved Relative Mach Number contour in Ansys Fluent showing leading-edge shock impingement, passage flow turning, and trailing-edge expansion
TECHNICAL FOCUS
  • Decomposed computational domain into inlet duct, rotor passage, and outlet zones with periodic pitch boundaries.
  • Configured inflation prism layers along blade surface to resolve boundary layer velocity gradients and wall shear.
  • Solved compressible flow field to validate flow turning angles across high-camber impulse blading.
04 // SHOP OPERATIONS & MACHINERY CERTIFICATION

Baum Maker Space Shop Operations

Student trainer certifying undergraduate engineers across Level 1 through Level 3 machinery safety standards.

Horizontal & Vertical Band Saws Precision Drill Presses Bench Grinders Tool Stock Clamping PPE Compliance FDM Additive Manufacturing