WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – The Air Force Institute of Technology, in partnership with the High Speed Systems Division of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Aerospace Systems Directorate, recently hosted a short course on selected disciplines and hypersonic principles.
The June 20-22 course focused on aerodynamics, propulsion, hardware, structures, stability and control, with the overall theme of experimentation, testing and multidisciplinary analysis and design.
“We developed a series of tutorials to provide a basic overview to bring new researchers and engineers into the hypersonic world as quickly as possible,” said José Camberos, associate professor of aerospace engineering at AFIT.
Air Force employees, trainees, and contractors, unfamiliar with hypersonic principles, were the primary audience. More than 200 people have completed the course from AFRL, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center and other Department of Defense organizations, academia and the industry.
“As a technical expert in aircraft performance, I was very impressed with the content covered,” said Barry James, a participant in the AFLCMC Flight Technology Branch. “My knowledge of this topic was exactly zero, and now I have a pretty good understanding of it and its limitations thanks to your choices of material. This was all very informative and gave a solid foundation for the challenges of the hypersonic flight regime.
Over the three days, 25 subject matter experts from AFIT and AFRL covered topics on basic hypersonic aerodynamics, propulsion, stability and control, power and heat management , vehicle design and analysis, and flight research and experimentation applications.
Attendees also had the opportunity to take a guided tour of AFRL’s hypersonic test facilities from Mike Brown, senior scientist in the High Speed Systems Division of the Aerospace Systems Directorate.
“The unique part of this short course is that the subject matter experts have worked in the hypersonics field or subspecialty throughout their career; it’s not just one teacher teaching classes all day,” said Ramana Grandhi, professor of aerospace engineering at AFIT.
Lunch-and-learn presentations highlighting programs related to hypersonics were included on the agenda. Russ Cummings presented on the Air Force Academy’s Hypersonic Vehicle Simulation Institute, while Bernd Chudoba of the University of Texas at Arlington discussed the need and vision for a future hypersonic programs office.
“The practical knowledge shared by the presenters was as important as the technical content,” said Jack Lesko, director of engineering research at the Roux Institute at Northeastern University.
Participating in the course also allowed students to network with subject matter experts to build partnerships, showcase AFRL expertise, and learn about training opportunities at AFIT.
“We hope to make connections, build partnerships, encourage collaboration and communication at all levels – this is true workforce development and research collaboration,” Camberos said .
The course concluded with a visit to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, where students learned about legacy vehicles and technologies such as the X-plane collection developed to advance the study of aerodynamics and propulsion.
“Some subject matter experts are retired, but they are ready to help transfer their knowledge,” Grandhi said. “Two of them in particular, Bob Mercier and John Schell, gave tours of the X-plane and SR-71 Blackbird to share their successes and challenges while working on these programs.”
Camberos added: “Because we invite and prioritize the participation of summer visitors, interns and students, the course also serves as an inspiration for the next generation of new researchers. »
The course was created by the High Speed Systems division in 2016, led by Camberos in his former role at AFRL. This was the second year AFIT hosted this short course and plans for next year’s offering are underway.
For more information on AFIT’s research and training opportunities in hypersonics, visit www.afit.edu/hypersonics.
