University of Miami receives grant towards research of hypersonic materials and structures

Teledyne Scientific and Imaging LLC is awarding the University of Miami College of Engineering a new grant to expand research of hypersonic materials and structures

23-Nov-2009 - USA

The University of Miami (UM) College of Engineering has been awarded a grant totaling $421,000 over five years from the newly established National Hypersonic Science Center for Hypersonic Materials through Teledyne Scientific and Imaging, to work collaboratively with other research teams in the area of hypersonic materials and structures.

Dr. Qingda Yang, principal investigator and professor in the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, will lead UM engineering researchers in collaboration with teams from other institutions to develop hypersonic materials and structures, such as those used for thermal protection of space vehicles during re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere.

The new center, jointly supported by NASA and the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, is led by Teledyne Scientific and Imaging LLC, a subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, and includes research teams from six research universities including: University of Miami in Florida, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Colorado at Boulder, Missouri University of Science and Technology at Rolla, University of California at Berkeley, and University of Texas at Arlington.

The researchers in the center will develop innovative materials with complex hierarchical micro-structures that can survive extremely high-temperature environments for a sustained period of time. They will also establish a novel methodology named "virtual testing" for future design of new complex materials.

This new methodology will have a significant impact on future materials and structural design, because it offers the potential to reduce physical testing effort by 90% in new material development, explains Dr.Yang. "The virtual testing for complex high temperature materials is different from existing physical testing based empirical methodology," says Yang. "The new methodology could result in substantial cost saving and lead-time reduction in materials and structural design."

The UM team will focus on the development of essential numerical capability based on multi-scale modeling to accurately model and predict the mechanical behavior of such materials.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/109797/university-of-miami-receives-grant-towards-research-of-hypersonic-materials-and-structures.html