Through a $130,000 grant from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), a University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) engineering professor will help enhance the sustainability of structures moving at hypersonic speeds.
Calvin M. Stewart also directs the Material at Extremes Research Group under the direction of UTEP’s NASA MIRO Center for Space Exploration Technology and Research.
The AFRL grant will be used to conduct experimental and computational research on materials for hypersonic cruise vehicles (HVCs).
“Real-time prediction of the mechanical state is important for the survivability of HCVs,” Prof. Stewart said. “At that speed, the life expectancy of these vehicles is measured in minutes. If we can better predict the mechanical response under the conditions of hypersonic flight, we can extend the life of HCVs and eventually be able to travel around the globe in less than two hours.”
The project is divided into two research objectives. The first is to generate a database of standard and nonstandard experimental data for a candidate material for hypersonic cruise vehicles.
The second objective is to develop a tool — based on information from the database — that incorporates a physically realistic model and computationally efficient software to enable the real-time prediction of mechanical state.
The AFRL grant will be used to support student researchers and provide student travel to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
“The success of any research project arises not from the professors involved but from students,” Stewart said. “Students involved in this project will work on a national high-priority research area. Ideally, these students will go on to work for AFRL and be an example of the high caliber of students that UTEP can produce.”
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