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Propulsion

Although the first hypersonic vehicles will be unpowered gliding designs, scramjet-powered vehicles, and ultimately dual cycle turbojet/scramjet-powered vehicles will follow.  With regard to scramjet propulsion, understanding the processes at the core of hypersonic combustors, and its sensitivity to initial conditions is critical to ensuring stable and high-performance engine operation. The combustor geometry and fuel reaction times set important operability limits. Even at the reduced flow velocities required for flame stabilization (typically ∼ 1/3 of the flight speed), the chemical time-scales inherent to most fuels necessitate long combustors and hence increase vehicle length and/or weight.

Similarly, the thermal boundary conditions due to wall heat transfer and deformation of critical flow paths can have a significant impact on the turbulent flow and combustion. Thermal management is a major challenge in the combustor, currently limited by available high-temperature materials, or heat mitigation approaches, which relates back the Materials, Structures, and Thermal Protection/Mitigation Initiative research. 

The Propulsion Focus Group includes faculty performing experiments and numerical simulations related to scramjet propulsion. Experiments make extensive use of non-intrusive laser diagnostic techniques. Simulations include high-fidelity analysis of fundamental phenomena in isolators and cavities involving turbulent models coupled with embedded DNS, as well as URANS-based formulations to capture scramjet turbulent flow paths. A particular interest is enhanced combustion using plasma discharges.

Affiliated Faculty

  • Josh Cameron

    ND Turbo
    Expertise: Turbomachinery Propulsion

  • Robert Chlebek

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Aero. Facilities Management

  • Thomas Corke

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Hypersonics Technical Lead, Hypersonic Aerodynamics, Turbulent Transition

  • Stanislav Gordeyev

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: High-speed Flows/Aero-Optics

  • Aleksandar Jemcov

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Computational Fluid Dynamics

  • Sergey Leonov

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Gas Dynamics/Plasma

  • Jonathan MacArt

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Computational Fluid Dynamics, Combustion

  • Eric Matlis

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Hypersonic Flows/Plasma/Sensors

  • Karel Matouš

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Computational Physics, Aero-Materials

  • Scott Morris

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Turbomachinery Propulsion

  • Joseph Powers

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Computational Fluid Dynamics, Combustion, V&V

  • Daniele Schiavazzi

    Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics
    Expertise: Mathematics/ Hypersonic Aero., Surface Ablation

  • Flint Thomas

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Unsteady Flows/Turbulence

  • Meng Wang

    Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
    Expertise: Computational Fluid Dynamics/Turbulence Modeling