KENTUCKY: Researcher Receives $600,000 DEPSCOR Award to Model Hypersonic Environments
Savio Poovathingal, University of Kentucky, received a three-year $600,000 award from the Department of Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) for his project titled, “Fragmentation and melting of ice particles subjected to hypersonic aerothermodynamic environments.” Poovathingal’s team is working to create predictive modeling about how ice particles respond when a hypersonic vehicle passes through them.
“You can imagine an ice particle, sitting in a cold environment, that is suddenly exposed to extremely hot gases,” said Poovathingal. “The temperature and pressure change is like a hammer hitting the ice particles.”
Poovathingal’s modeling will provide insight into how ice particles are damaged, how they melt and how they affect the shroud of hot gasses surrounding the hypersonic vehicle. This information will help engineers and designers understand how the ice particles might damage a high-speed aircraft.