It also provides students at the University of Arizona with an uncommon opportunity to be trained in this largely unexplored area of science."Ĭraig's research focuses on boundary layer transition – the shift from laminar, or smooth, to turbulent in the flow of air around an aircraft. "Investment in this type of infrastructure is essential to making discoveries that will inform development of future Army and Department of Defense systems. "The ability to conduct experiments in transonic flow regimes is critically important to uncovering the complex physical behaviors at play there's a mix of subsonic and supersonic behavior happening simultaneously, which presents an exceptional challenge," said Matthew Munson, program manager for fluid dynamics at the Army Research Office. They'll also be able to apply active flow control – the ability to manipulate a flow field for a desired change – in experiments at transonic conditions. "Now, we'll be able to expand this to the range that's in between, giving this university a nationally unique experimental capability."įor example, aerospace and mechanical engineering researchers will now be able to study unsteady and separated flows, which are prevalent on components such as the blades of helicopters in the transonic range. "We already have a lot of projects at low subsonic conditions as well as supersonic and hypersonic," Little said. The transonic portion will be added in late 2020. The existing design enables Mach numbers from 1.75 to 4. The Army Research Office grant will fund construction of a specially designed test section to extend the Arizona Supersonic Wind Tunnel, which is currently being installed in Little's lab, to transonic conditions. However, because transport aircraft, rotorcraft, turbomachinery and various projectiles operate at transonic conditions, experimentation in this range is critical. ![]() The environment is so sensitive, in fact, that just inserting a model into a traditional wind tunnel operating at transonic speeds can spoil the test conditions. The transonic range, from about Mach 0.8 to 1.3, is complicated because it contains a mixture of subsonic and supersonic behavior that makes experimentation difficult. The tunnels are used to learn more about how aircraft behave in flight. The Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering has wind tunnels that operate in each of these ranges, including the subsonic and supersonic tunnels in Little's Turbulence and Flow Control Laboratory and the hypersonic wind tunnels in Craig's Boundary-Layer Stability and Transition Laboratory. Subsonic flows are below Mach 0.8, supersonic flows are Mach 1.3 to Mach 5, and hypersonic flows are Mach 5 and above. Mach 1 refers to flows at the speed of sound. ![]() The speed of sound is about 761 mph in standard conditions at sea level. When we're done, across a few different facilities, we will be able to experiment from Mach 0 to Mach 5, at scales relevant for real problems, not just theoretical ones." "Our department has a legacy in fluid mechanics and aerodynamics, and we are building on decades' worth of research done by colleagues. "Hypersonics is a key part of the university's strategic plan," Little said. In addition, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research awarded $125,000 to Craig, $285,000 to Little and $245,655 to aerospace and mechanical engineering professor Hermann Fasel as part of the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program. ![]() Through the program, assistant professor Stuart "Alex" Craig received $450,000 from the Office of Naval Research, and Jesse Little, associate professor and associate department head for graduate studies, received $600,000 from the Army Research Office. Department of Defense's Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority-Serving Institutions Science Program. With the designation of the university as a Hispanic-Serving Institution in 2018, last year was the first time researchers could apply for funding from the U.S. The University of Arizona College of Engineering wind tunnels are getting $1.7 million in upgrades, which will boost the capabilities of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering in high-speed aerodynamics research. Stuart "Alex" Craig and Jesse Little received the funding through the U.S. A grant from the Army Research Office will fund an extension of the Arizona Supersonic Wind Tunnel, making it capable of conducting experiments in transonic conditions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |