$17.8M Wind Tunnel Marks 10 Years of Hypersonics Progress

On reentry, space shuttles slam into Earth’s atmosphere at nearly Mach 25 (25 times the speed of sound). That tremendous speed heats the shuttle’s surface above 2600 degrees Fahrenheit, and subjects it to similarly extreme pressure, for up to 15 minutes.

While spacecraft reentry is the most extreme example, all hypersonic vehicles—anything that travels above Mach 5—must contend with high temperature and pressure for extended periods.

“All the kinetic energy of that vehicle gets rapidly converted to heat, which has implications for air flow, thermal load on the vehicle, and ultimately the survivability of that vehicle,” said John Schmisseur, the executive director of the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI). “Managing that heat is the number one challenge of high-speed flight.”

Developing and testing new hypersonic materials, fuselage profiles, and other components is a long and expensive process. Tests require time in the world’s most advanced wind tunnel facilities, such as those housed within the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) just down the street from UTSI, where a test campaign can cost millions of dollars and the wait list is several years long.

Last fall, a team of researchers from UTSI and the University of Dayton Research Instituteembarked on a $17.8 million, four-year grant to create a new wind tunnel at UTSI that can subject material samples to hypersonic conditions for up to tens of minutes—at a much lower cost.

“We’re trying to be the bridge between AEDC and UT and make these tests more accessible,” said UTSI Professor Jacqueline Johnson, one of the researchers overseeing construction of the wind tunnel.

Though its construction was funded mere months ago, in a way, this cutting-edge wind tunnel is already 10 years in the making. It is the latest in a series of incremental steps UTSI has been making over the last decade to turn Tennessee into a hypersonics powerhouse.

“In 2014, the leadership of AEDC and UT launched an initiative to spark growth in hypersonics on our campus,” Schmisseur said. “They recognized it as a great opportunity for us to respond to a national need, and through the process, to foster greater collaboration and partnership between UTSI and the main UT system.”

Making UTSI a Hypersonics Toolbox

Schmisseur worked as a civilian program manager in the Air Force, directing hypersonic research funding to universities across the United States , until a colleague at AEDC suggested that he would be a great fit for UTSI’s new hypersonics push.

He has been working to elevate and expand hypersonics capabilities at UTSI—and throughout the state of Tennessee—ever since.

“We have very methodically built a comprehensive set of hypersonics research tools,” he said. “Ultimately, we want to give a government agency or an industrial partner everything they need to address the challenges associated with building a system that will fly fast or take you to space. It’s not just materials, it’s not just structures, it’s not just aerodynamics; it’s how all of them integrate into a system that can efficiently do its job under the extreme conditions of high-speed flight.”

Over the last decade, Schmisseur has helped UTSI access government funding toward infrastructure, research capabilities, and networks that not only support UT’s hypersonics research but attract industrial partners.

For example, in 2014, Schmisseur and his partners throughout the UT System secured state support to build UTSI’s first hypersonic wind tunnel. Thanks to that initial investment, UTSI has developed fruitful, long-running relationships with many high-profile industrial firms, including the recent Master Research Agreement between UT and Lockheed Martin.

“As we’ve continued to build our hypersonic capability, our elected officials have partnered with us to make sure that we have the appropriate resources to get it done,” Schmisseur said. “The outcome is that Tennessee is now more competitive than it’s ever been to advance hypersonics, aerospace, and defense in both academic research and industrial partnerships.”

Statewide Impacts on Industry, Workforce

UTSI’s ongoing hypersonics expansion and integration with industrial partners have certainly moved the field of hypersonics forward. The foundation the institute has built over the last decade has also helped foster more connections with the rest of the UT system, especially the flagship campus in Knoxville.

However, Schmisseur believes that the program’s greatest impacts will be felt far outside the UT system.

“If you think about UT’s land grant mission, then people across the state should benefit from what happens in the Space Institute, even if they don’t know we’re here,” he said.

Every job created in engineering research or advanced manufacturing creates two additional jobs in the supply chain, Schmisseur explained. Building industrial capability and lasting infrastructure, like UTSI’s existing and upcoming wind tunnels, creates yet more jobs.

“Our ultimate goal is for our scientific investment to be the catalyst that will cause industry to locate in Tennessee,” Schmisseur said. “Our state is well known for manufacturing things that are designed elsewhere, but we want to build the systems that let us create the aerospace and defense intellectual property within our state as well. We want to create opportunities and spark industrial growth that benefits and serves all Tennesseans.”

Contact

Izzie Gall (865-974-7203, egall4@utk.edu)