North Carolina University Selected for Hypersonics Research

The Department of Defense (DoD) announced today that North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) was selected for a one-year, $500,000 applied research award to advance hypersonics technology. N.C. A&T will develop a novel methodology for designing an optimized intake to enhance hypersonic flight performance.

N.C. A&T will employ advanced engineering methods to design inlets for hypersonic speeds, then assess the design methodology and performance of the developed inlet. N.C. A&T will then evaluate the hypersonic design through computational analysis and high-speed wind tunnel experimentation.

The proposed research, sponsored by the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office (JHTO) through the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics (UCAH), will be jointly undertaken by N.C. A&T, Purdue University, University of Notre Dame’s Center for Research Computing, Boeing / AFOSR Mach 6 Quiet Wind Tunnel (BAM6QT), and Leidos.

High-performance computer resources will be conducted at Notre Dame, simulations performed using N.C. A&T’s computational facilities, and demonstration experiments will be held at the BAM6QT with resulting data to be compared and confirmed by N.C. A&T and Purdue. Leidos will provide subject matter expertise to help evaluate the optimized designs’ effectiveness and performance, as well as provide perspectives from manufacturers and suppliers.

One of the main objectives of the UCAH and JHTO is workforce development. This project will provide direct hypersonics and industry experience to a number of graduate and postdoctoral students at all three universities..