With three new facilities dedicated to hypersonics either being built or set to break ground, Purdue University is poised to be a national and global leader in hypersonics technology.
What is hypersonics, and why is it important?
Hypersonics deals with objects – missiles, rockets, space shuttles and planes – that can fly five to six times the speed of sound, and it has applications in space travel, defense and possibly even logistics and passenger travel at some point.
A hypersonic plane could travel from Indianapolis to L.A. in less than an hour. So, you can see the appeal. Hypersonic speed is even more than three times faster than today’s fastest fighter jet flying at supersonic speed.
Sound far-fetched? Last year, Boeing unveiled a design for a plane capable of reaching Mach 5, the low end of hypersonic speed. And the Stratofly MR3, a 300-passenger airliner under development by a European consortium that includes the German Aerospace Center, the French Aerospace Lab and eight other universities and research organizations, would fly even faster.
The technology is quickly becoming front and center in warfare, with Russia recently threatening to fire hypersonic missiles in its war against the Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies are keen to stay one step ahead in its development of those technologies.
Purdue’s recent investments in hypersonics position the university as a compelling partner for national defense projects from industry and government. Hypersonics is a key area of focus under two of Purdue’s Next Moves strategic initiatives, which will advance the university’s competitive advantage.
If Purdue becomes a hypersonics research and production epicenter, that will almost certainly draw other companies working in this technology to the region. The developments at Purdue could enhance work being done at other state colleges and universities – including Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame – which could further the state’s position as a leader in the sector.
“I can envision as these facilities become active, we will bring in business from outside the state,” says Jonathan Poggie, professor in the school of aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue and a noted hypersonics expert. “I don’t think there’s any doubt it could bring in business to this state, and in turn it will bring in more businesses to support those businesses. So it could really build on itself.”
Poggie also thinks the developments at Purdue “could help us retain some of the talent we train here in the state.” That type of reverse brain drain is high on the agenda of Gov. Eric Holcomb and state and local lawmakers.
There are three key developments in hypersonics at Purdue.
This month, Purdue trustees approved funding of the $73 million High-Speed Propulsion Laboratory in the Discovery Park District. The facility, if it passes the state review process as expected, will put the university’s hypersonics testing capabilities on scale with large industry partners when it opens in 2024.
The new lab will provide testing capabilities at the extreme pressure and temperature conditions experienced in hypersonic flight, significantly enhancing Purdue’s research and development capabilities.
Once the facility is complete, Purdue will be the only university in the nation with such high-level propulsion capabilities. And unlike government and commercial labs, Purdue’s facility will be open to researchers who want to test their hypersonics-related equipment and developments.
Purdue announced in February the launch of the Hypersonics Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center (HAMTC), which is focused on developing high-temperature materials and creating new manufacturing processes to make and join these materials, which will extend hypersonic vehicles’ capabilities and apply to other industries.
The $18.6 million HAMTC is already drawing interest from a variety of aeronautical industry behemoths, including Boeing, GE Additive, Dynetics, Lockheed Martin, Aerojet Rocketdyne, GE Edison Works and several small businesses.
Those two developments along with the $41 million Hypersonics and Applied Research Facility (HARF), which broke ground in late 2021 in the Discovery Park District and is projected to be complete in spring 2023, would make the school a pillar in the area of hypersonics.
The HARF facility will house the only Mach 8 quiet wind tunnel in the world and the hypersonic pulse (HYPULSE) reflected shock/expansion tunnel.
“Compared to other universities, Purdue will be the premiere facility with respect to hypersonics research, with these new facilities,” Poggie says.
The applications of hypersonics could have a big impact in several ways. The primary applications currently are in military defense and space travel. But at some point, the technology could be applied to commercial airplanes.
“There’s a lot of talk of hypersonic commercial transport,” Poggie emphasizes. “The technology could get you a very long distance in a short time. A plane at hypersonic speed could travel up to six times as fast as today’s commercial flight. And it probably wouldn’t feel any different for passengers.”
But traveling at hypersonic speeds, explains Poggie, does create some design and engineering challenges. For one, the aircraft would heat up to super high temperatures, “so different forms of engineering would be needed to address that. If an engine cut out, there would be a harsh deceleration. And the economics of this are problematic.”
Still, he says, “there’s tremendous promise with this technology.”
Purdue’s growing hypersonics capabilities add to Indiana’s research in related fields, including Notre Dame’s research in aerodynamic effects, Indiana University’s advanced computing and hypersonic modeling and simulation research, and work being done at military facilities in Indiana.
