Challenges: A team has been assembled at UCSB to address challenges presented by future generations of (hydrocarbon-fueled) long-range aerospace systems that operate at Mach 7 to 10. The core requirements include robust materials and designs amenable of sustaining extreme heat flux with shape-morphing components that allow efficient flight scenarios.
Strategy:The efficient operation of the scramjet requires that the inlet change shape during flight. This is being achieved by using lightweight structures incorporating an active plane capable of changing the shape of the surface while simultaneously supporting large pressure loads. For the large area surfaces the overriding challenge is the management of the thermal
strain differential between the hot outer surface and the cooler interior. This challenge is addressed in the shuttle by using tiles, but these lack robustness. The alternative being pursued at UCSB envisages refractory alloys and CMCs with topologies that achieve a robust hot face with near-zero thermal expansion coefficient and a core with low thermal conductivity but adequate shear strength. More...
Participants:
At UCSB – F.W. Zok, C.G Levi, R.M. McMeeking, T.M. Pollock
At Princeton – R. Miles, L. Martinelli
At U Virginia – H.N.G. Wadley, H. Haj-Hariri
At Harvard – J.W. Hutchinson
