Grant will allow purchase of high-speed imaging system
A state-of-the-art, high-speed imaging system is coming to Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories, thanks to a grant awarded through the Department of Defense’s Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP).
Stephen Heister, Raisbeck Engineering Distinguished Professor for Engineering and Technology Integration and principal investigator on the proposal, and fellow AAE professor Carson Slabaugh study detonations in an engine’s combustion chamber and research how to use highly unstable combustion processes to develop better propulsion systems.
This grant will aid in that research.
Heister and Slabaugh plan to purchase cameras that are capable of time-resolving the structure and dynamics of reacting flow in the engine plume and within the combustion chamber. The cameras will capture images at speeds up to one million frames per second, which will allow researchers to resolve the fast physical processes occurring inside of a detonation wave.
“Detonations offer advantages both in terms of thermodynamic efficiency and power density of the combustion device,” Slabaugh said. “The trick is harnessing this potential effectively.
“The information (from the system) will help us better understand the flow physics and design better engines.”
The DOD awarded nearly $49 million to 172 university researchers through DURIP, which supports purchases of major research equipment to augment current and develop new capabilities, a news release said.
“These awards provide research infrastructure to enable the most creative scientific minds in the country to extend the boundaries of science and technology,” Mitch Nikolich, director of defense research and engineering for research and technology, said in a release. “The awards will maintain the cutting-edge capabilities of our universities and the outstanding training of our STEM workforce. They will facilitate scientific advances that will support unprecedented military capabilities for our country.”
The program is administered through a merit competition jointly conducted by the Army Research Office, Office of Naval Research and Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Heister’s and Slabaugh’s proposal was selected by the AFOSR.