A research team of University aerospace engineering students unveiled a 30-foot hypersonic scramjet engine prototype yesterday. One day, the technology could allow a plane to fly from New York to Hong Kong in just two hours.
Development of the scramjet engine would make such travel possible because it can travel at 3,700 miles per hour, or five times the speed of sound, which "really illustrates the pillars of strengths of [the University's] engineering programs," said Barry Johnson, senior associate dean for research in the Engineering School.
The unveiling was part of a ceremony which took place on the lawn of Thornton Hall before an audience of about 20 people and included presentations by Chris Goyne, the principal investigator for the project and research assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, Barry Johnson, senior associate dean for research for the Engineering School and Ray Lee, a fourth-year student program manager for the project.
The creation of the scramjet engine is part of the Engineering School's "hypersonic scramjet program," known as "Hy-V." "Hy" refers to the "speed at which the jet will travel - a hypersonic speed of Mach 5 - and the "V" also pays homage to the commonwealth of Virginia," according to a news release on the University website.
Goyne explained the program aims to develop test techniques in wind tunnels and flight experiments through use of the prototype.
"We want to be able to help aerospace companies, help NASA and help the Department of Defense to be able to more accurately test scramjets so that as we develop the technology for real applications, we'll be able to assess the performance of the scramjets accurately," Goyne said.
Johnson said the research and creation of the scramjet was made possible as a result of four cornerstones of the project, including: outstanding faculty, unique facilities with an aerospace research lab and the only wind tunnel that can have sustained operation to demonstrate Mach 5 and above experimentation during the course of several hours, outstanding students, and partnerships between multiple organizations.
"I would put our student's quality second to none," Johnson said during the ceremony.
The "Hy-V" program enhances undergraduate education because it "gives students hands-on experience with aerospace technology and the opportunity to work side by side with industry professionals" and professors, Goyne said.
The gas generator or "sparkplug for the engine" designed by former student Ryan Johnson is now managed and tested by Lee.
"One of the big projects that students [have] ... is actually working on the Hy-V scramjet itself," Lee said. "Any student [who] becomes part of the Hy-V program has a wealth of opportunities that will eventually help them whether they go into industry or come back to the University as graduate students."
The mock-up of the scramjet engine will be on display for the public March 19 in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Building as part of the Engineering School's Open House.
"We look forward to it being on display," Johnson said. "We hope that members of the public will come by and look at it and pay some respect to what Chris and his [research team] have done."
The scramjet engine developed by the "Hy-V" program will be used in a 2012 flight test at the NASA-Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore, which will allow researchers to "compare flight-test data with data that has been collected in various scramjet wind-tunnel experiments around the United States," according to the news release.
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