Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT) Flight Test Program
Abstract
A detailed understanding of boundary-layer transition phenomena at hypersonic flight speeds is critical to the design of hypersonic flight vehicles and their performance prediction. In concert with the Air Force Research Laboratory Aerospace Systems Directorate (AFRL/RQ) and theAustralian Defense Science and Technology Group (DSTG), the Johns Hopkins UniversityApplied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) will conduct the Boundary Layer Transition (BOLT)Experiments to characterize boundary-layer transition mechanisms on a low-curvature concave geometry with swept leading edges at high Mach numbers (5 to 7). Data obtained during theJHU/APL BOLT program will be key to enabling effective calibration and advanced development of modeling tools for boundary-layer transition. Knowledge gained during BOLT will benefit future hypersonic vehicle designs.Using computational analyses, principal boundary-layer transition mechanisms will be identified and the analytical results will be used to guide instrumentation requirements and test conditions for a ground test campaign and flight experiment. Measurements of transition physics will be obtained in wind-tunnel experiments at the Purdue Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel, NASALangley 20-Inch Mach-6 Tunnel, and the CUBRC LENS II tunnel. Knowledge gained from computational analyses and the ground tests will be used to design a high-quality FlightGeometry experiment to gain insight on in-flight transition mechanisms. The flight experiment will be conducted at the Woomera Test Range in Australia to provide critically needed flight validation data.The research program will be completed by a team with expertise in hypersonics, computational fluid dynamics, wind tunnel testing, and flight testing. The program will be conducted during a three (3) year period with a total budget of $2M
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 11, 2017
- Source ID
- FA95501720001
Entities
People
- Bradley Wheaton
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Johns Hopkins University
- United States Air Force