Abstract

As hypersonic airbreathing propulsion systems now transition from laboratory developments to flight demonstrations, it is widely recognized that flight vehicles powered by hypersonic airbreathing engines offer a potential to reduce the cost of launching payloads to space and the time required to travel global distances. While this potential for both sustained hypersonic flight within the atmosphere and efficient acceleration for access-to-space vehicles has been recognized since 1960, scramjets have yet to be developed and employed on hypersonic vehicles. Through looking at the origins of scramjet engines, past development activities, and current worldwide development programs, the technical challenges associated with realizing efficient scramjet-powered flight are discussed.

Bio

Dr. Van Wie is the Chief Technologist of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Precision Engagement Business Area with responsibility for identifying, maturing, and developing innovation technologies for Precision Engagement. Dr. Van Wie has a broad technical background with an emphasis in the field of high-speed, high-temperature fluid dynamics and airbreathing propulsion systems. Dr. Van Wie’s experience also includes modeling of solid rocket propulsion systems, investigation of novel plasma aerodynamic phenomena, development of numerical tools for analyzing supersonic and hypersonic flows, investigations of end-to-end systems for time-critical strike, and management of significant technical tasks. Dr. Van Wie also holds a research faculty position in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University, and lectures in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland in the areas of space propulsion, aerodynamics and high-temperature gas dynamics. Dr. Van Wie was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2010.

An informal coffee & cookie reception will be held prior to the lecture at 2:30 p.m. in the AAE/ARMS undergraduate lounge (directly in front of ARMS 3rd floor elevators).