Prerequisites: IT Upper division or graduate student, AEM 4202.

Importance/properties of hypersonic flow. Hypersonic shock and expansion-wave relations. Local surface inclination methods. Approximate/exact methods for hypersonic inviscid flow fields. Viscous flow: boundary layers, aerodynamic heating, hypersonic viscous interactions, computational methods. Hypersonic propulsion and vehicle design.

Summary

This course is aimed at seniors and graduate students in aerospace engineering and related disciplines.

Hypersonic aerodynamics is the study of flows at very high speeds, including applications such as planetary entry thermal protection system design, lifting re-entry vehicles performance, and scramjet-powered hypersonic aircraft operation. Critical aspects of these flows involve the interplay between aerodynamic performance, aerodynamic heating, thermal protection materials, and trajectory mechanics. In this course, the analysis methods for calculating surface pressures and heat transfer rates for hypersonic vehicles are developed, including the effects of chemical reactions and internal energy excitation in the gas. Planetary entry mechanics are discussed in relation to thermal protection system design. The key issues associated with the development of hypersonic air-breathing propulsion systems are discussed.

The grade is based on homework assignments, a midterm exam and a final exam.