The Department of Defense (DoD) announced today that the University of Central Florida (UCF) was selected for a one-year, $500,000 applied research award to develop modeling and simulation capability to predict the hypersonic environment over a range of trajectories up to Mach 15. The proposed research, sponsored by the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office (JHTO) through the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics (UCAH), will be jointly undertaken by UCF, Combustion Research and Flow Technology, Inc. (CRAFT), and Florida State University (FSU).
Experiments to verify and validate the codes produced by this effort will be performed at unique facilities at UCF and FSU, which will provide high-quality, aero-optics data up to Mach 15. CRAFT will extend and develop its model for predicting aero-optic environments (which is currently used in applied DoD programs) under complex hypersonic vehicle aerodynamic and aerothermodynamics interactions. These environments will be leveraged to reduce the turnaround time for the acquiring both simulation and test data.
One of the main objectives of the UCAH and JHTO is workforce development. This project will provide direct hypersonics and industry experience to several graduate students, undergraduates and postdoctoral students at UCF and FSU. As the largest Minority Serving Institution (MSI) in this country, UCF will give underrepresented students valuable experience in this critical DoD discipline.
About USD(R&E)
The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E) is the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Defense. The USD(R&E) champions research, science, technology, engineering, and innovation to maintain the United States military's technological advantage. Learn more at www.cto.mil, follow us on Twitter @DoDCTO, or visit us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ousdre.
