About DOE Fellow
Deanna Moya is an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in business administration at Florida International University (FIU). She is a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Society as well a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). Her research interests include mechanical design, robotics, and computational modeling of fluid systems for the waste removal projects at DOE. After the completion of her bachelor’s degree in fall 2015, she plans to continue her education in pursuit of a master’s degree. Deanna left the program to continue her studies at Florida International University.
DOE Related Projects
Deanna is a DOE Fellow for the DOE-FIU Science and Technology Workforce Development Program, working on the computational simulations and evolution of high-level waste pipeline plugs under the mentorship of Romani Patel. Over the past years, Florida International University’s Applied Research Center (ARC) has attributed the pipeline plugging to two main factors: chemical instability and settling of solids. Deanna’s research includes the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to simulate and predict the plug formation process in a high-level waste pipeline. With these 2D multiphase simulations, the risk of pipeline plugging can be reduced and the relationships between plug formation, critical flow velocity, and settling dynamics can be better understood.