Hypersonics and directed energy
Five times faster than the speed of sound
In aerodynamics, hypersonic speed greatly exceeds the speed of sound. On the ground, sound waves travel at around 340 metres per second. Any faster than this is supersonic, and five or more times faster is hypersonic. Unlike supersonic flow, with a hypersonic flow there is no sound barrier that is broken. As a vehicle moves faster and faster, the heat transfer of the flow starts to become important as the kinetic energy of the object converts to heat in the surrounding gases.泭
In the natural world, objects such as meteors and asteroids move through the Earths atmosphere hypersonically. Space shuttles and other space vehicles that we send to other planets, like the Mars Pathfinder-type probes, are man-made hypersonic vehicles. There have also been attempts to build aircraft that fly at hypersonic speeds here on Earth.泭泭
-
Developing, validating and testing structural designs, components and materials to operate in the extremes of hypersonic flight.泭
泭Competitive advantage泭
- Unique in-house expertise in the design and testing of aerostructures to withstand the extreme conditions experienced by a vehicle during hypersonic flight泭
- Expertise extends to both the development of numerical tools as well as the experimental methods to predict and measure the performance of structures, sub-components and materials exposed to hypersonic flight conditions泭
- Measurement and test technologies cover both ground-based measurements and in-flight measurements泭
泭
Impact泭
- Test and prediction technologies enable the increase in TRL of structural designs, sub-components and high temperature materials by exposing them dynamically to the thermal-structural conditions representative of hypersonic flight. This leads to the optimisation of vehicle designs and reduction in the requirement for expensive flight testing泭
泭
Successful applications泭
- Expertise and technology has been successfully applied to the design and evaluation of aerostructures and subcomponents for the泭HyCAUSE泭(DARPA/AFRL/Defence Science and Technology (DST)), SCRAMSPACE (UQ-led consortium) vehicles and the onboard measurement of thermal-structural performance in-flight under the泭HIFiRE泭(DST/AFRL) and HEXA泭
-
Testing and analysing the performance of control methods and algorithms in flow conditions that are representative of hypersonic flight.泭
泭Competitive advantage泭
- Technologies developed are used to test robust control algorithms on representative configurations in hypersonic flows泭
- Test technologies cover both algorithm-in-the-loop testing in wind tunnels as well as software-in-the-loop testing via numerical simulation泭
- Technologies can be applied to evaluate novel actuation methods such as fluidic control and fluidic thrust vectoring泭
泭
Impact泭
- Test methodologies enable a steady progression through Technology Readiness Levels of both control algorithms and control actuation approaches by testing them dynamically in flow conditions representative of hypersonic flight泭
泭
Successful applications泭
- Development of technologies to test both control methodologies and control actuation approaches; supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and BAE Systems泭
泭
Capabilities and facilities泭
- High-speed wind tunnels including T-ADFA and the Supersonic Nozzle Test Facility泭
- Partner facilities at USQ and HDT at the University of Oxford泭
- Commercial and in-house numerical codes are utilised to predict the transient performance of control approaches and to optimise their design泭
-
Reducing the risk of high-speed flight testing and development through the application of scaled, dynamic free-flight testing in wind tunnels.泭
泭Competitive advantage泭
- Pioneering the use of highly-instrumented, low-inertia, dynamically-scaled, rapidly-prototyped, models with on-board instrumentation for free-flight testing in hypersonic conditions in ground-based test facilities泭
- Measurement of the aerodynamic derivatives of a design across a range of attitudes in a single experimental run using a unique combination of on-board instrumentation, including miniature inertial measurement units, in tandem with high-speed video tracking. This technique offers the unique ability to quickly validate numerically-derived aerodynamic databases using a small number of wind tunnel experiments泭
- Ability to investigate high-speed separations including multi-stage separation and stores release and to quantify the associated multi-body aerodynamics泭
泭
Impact泭
- Tunnel-based, free-flight testing helps to reduce the requirement and risks associated with expensive flight testing of high-speed vehicle designs and configurations. Tunnel-based free-flight testing allows for assessing the accuracy of numerical designs and identifying unforeseen issues using ground-based test facilities. Changes to geometric design, mass distribution and separation approach can be rapidly asse泭
-
High-speed Mach number and angle of attack sensor for hypersonic vehicles.泭
泭Competitive advantage泭
- Specifically designed for sensing applications in hypersonic flight泭
- The device is capable of measuring temperature, Mach number, speed and angle of attack for hypersonic vehicles泭
- Spin-off technology has been patented as an air-speed sensor for subsonic vehicles泭
- More stealthy and faster response rate than pitot tubes, and able to be used from subsonic to hypersonic flight domains泭
- Not as susceptible to icing as standard pitot tubes泭
泭
Impact泭
- Enhanced control of hypersonic vehicles泭
- Replacement for pitot tubes in subsonic aircraft and large UAVs泭
泭
Successful applications泭
- Flight test associated with the Australian Space Research Program Scramspace泭
- Measured under 20 g acceleration conditions in flight泭
- Subject to obtaining an export licence, a proposed flight test with the Korean Aerospace Research Organisation KAIST泭
- Funding from the US Air Force泭
泭
Capabilities and facilities泭
- In-house development of all optics, electronics and communications technologies泭泭
-
World leading laser flow diagnostics.泭
泭Competitive advantage泭
- Unique combination of state-of-the-art shock tunnel for generating hypersonic flows and laser-based diagnostics for making precision measurements in those flows泭
- Wide range of laser-based measurement technologies, including laser-induced fluorescence diode laser absorption spectroscopy and resonantly-enhanced shearing interferometry泭
泭
Impact泭
- Design of more efficient hypersonic vehicles泭
- Improved understanding of aerothermodynamic heating and drag characteristics of hypersonic vehicles泭
- Testing validity of computational models泭
泭
Successful applications泭
- Produced the worlds first two-dimensional velocity maps in hypersonic separated flows泭
- Density measurements 100 times more sensitive than existing technologies泭
- Fastest scanning temperature measurement technology currently in existence (1.6 million temperature measurements per second)泭
- International collaboration in comparison of state-of-the-art computational methods泭
- Multiple funding streams including US Air Force programs泭
泭
Capabilities and facilities泭
- T-ADFA free-piston shock tunnel泭
- YAG-pumped dye laser system泭
- Diode laser absorption spectroscopy system泭
Contacts
泭
T: +61 (0) 2 6268 8251泭
Associate Professor Sean OByrne泭
T: +61 (0) 2 6268 8353泭泭
T:泭+61 (0) 2 5114 5131
