Research Projects
Title: Optimization of Leading Edge Thermal Protection Technology
Faculty: Iain Boyd, Jay McMahon
Students: Jens Rataczak
Funding Partner: NASA Ames Research Center
Synopsis: Identify hypersonic flight conditions to determine the optimal performance regimes of a new thermal protection technology being developed at NASA.
Title: Effects of Hypersonic Material Ablation on Structural Response
Faculty: Iain Boyd, Kurt Maute
Students: Jenny Horing, Sam Gates
Funding Partner: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Synopsis: Determine effects of material ablation during hypersonic flight on basic structural properties such as stiffness.
Title: Modeling the Processing and Testing of High-Temperature Materials
Faculty: Iain Boyd, Tim Minton, Al Weimer, Rishi Raj
Funding Partner: Sandia National Laboratory
Synopsis: Apply ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ modeling tools to analyze ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ experimental facilities to assess their relevance to processing and testing of high-temperature materials of interest to Sandia.
Title: Hypersonic flow control by a phononic subsurface
Faculty: Mahmoud Hussein, James Brasseur
Funding Partner: Air Force Research Laboratory
Synopsis: Develop a preliminary fluid-structure-interaction (FSI) model incorporating a phononic subsurface designed for boundary layer control under hypersonic flow conditions
Title: Three Dimensional Shape Optimization of Entry Vehicles
Faculty: Iain Boyd, Kurt Maute
Students: Michele Anderson, Sam Gates, David Dang
Funding Partner: NASA Ames Research Center
Synopsis: Optimize heat shield geometry accounting for shape change due to ablation along an entry trajectory
Title: Analysis of Surface Chemistry of Ceramic-Metal Composites in Hypersonic Flow
Faculty: Iain Boyd, Al Weimer
Students: James Nichols
Funding Partner: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Synopsis: Analyze transpiration cooling for hypersonic leading edges based on ceramic-metal composites.
Title: Plasma Fueled Engines
Faculty: Iain Boyd, John Evans
Students: Thomas Kava
Funding Partner: Lockheed Martin
Synopsis: Develop physical and numerical models for analysis of plasma fueled engines with application to high altitude hypersonic vehicle propulsion.