Collegiate Times

UVa mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate student Daniel Le works with a supersonic flame during testing of the scramjet in the University of Virginia Supersonic Combustion Wind Tunnel.

Aeronautic research conducted by a Virginia Tech and University of Virginia team hopes to lead to a more dependable, efficient and faster operation of aircraft with the help of a recent $50,000 gift from Tech alumni through the Aerojet Corporation.

The members of the Hy-V Program (named for its operation at hypersonic speed, and the state of Virginia) have been using prototypes to collect data in wind-tunnel simulations.  Their goal is to advance the development of a new type of propulsion system operated at hypersonic speed, known as a scramjet.

Unlike the propulsion systems of most current turbine jet aircraft, a scramjet engine (or supersonic combustion ramjet), uses almost no moving parts. It instead uses high velocity to compress air for combustion via a tapered inlet. This type of engine would allow more dependable, efficient, and faster operation of aircraft.

"In the future," said Jack Kennedy, a Gov. Tim Kaine-appointed member of the Virginia Aerospace Advisory Council, "a scramjet could be used in many applications, both commercial and military."

The more than two million dollars in funding needed for this program comes from many sources, including private corporations, NASA, the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and the Department of Defense.  Recently, Aerojet Corporation, a government aerospace and defense contractor, made its sixth overall donation to Hy-V.

"Aerojet has been very generous," said Joseph Schetz of Tech's Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering. "They have aided our research in high speed propulsion."

John Sparks, a representative of Aerojet Corp., member of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering Advisory board, and three-time Virginia Tech alumnus said, "There are not many programs in universities today studying this type of propulsion. ... We like to encourage it." In addition to monetary donations, including a recent gift of $50,000, Aerojet has made its corporate aeronautic resources available to the program.

Current development underway in the program includes a basic layout of the scramjet for its future test flight attachment on a NASA Terrier-Orion rocket from NASA Wallops Test Flight Facility on Virginia's eastern shore. Since scramjets have a minimum operational speed, they must be given a supersonic boost by a rocket. Once the minimum speed is attained, the scramjet payload detaches from the rocket and fuel is introduced, causing the continued acceleration and propulsion of the scramjet.

After a recent Tech/UVa collaborative meeting, the Hy-V Program's principle investigator and director of the Aerospace Research Laboratory at UVa, Christopher Goyne said, "NASA is interested in this technology due to its efficiency. They are looking to replace conventional rockets with scramjets for high speed flight in the atmosphere and access to space."

Goyne, a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia, has been conducting research on scramjets for 15 years.  "The scramjet will operate at five times the speed of sound at an altitude of 80,000 to 90,000 feet," Goyne said.  "We're planning for a flight in late 2010."