Event Scheduled for Nov 13, 2009

Event: BPB Rm 130: ME Fall 2009 Seminar Series: "From X43 to X51: A Bird’s Eye View of Challenges for Advanced Hypersonic Propulsion," Prof. Chih-Jen (Jackie) Sung, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Connecticut

Location: BPB 130

Time: 02:00 pm

Details of Event:
Abstract:
Advanced airbreathing propulsion holds promise for making space travel routine and paving the way for cross-country commercial flights in 30 min. Although we have had an over half-century of interest in hypersonic flight, hypersonics has continued to intrigue with its possibilities, but also with the persistence of some of its very real challenges. When the X-43A Hyper-X finally did have two highly successful flights in 2004 – the first to Mach 6.91 and the second to Mach 9.68, both demonstrating scramjet ignition and subsequent combustion, encouragement at the results has led to the X-51A Scramjet Engine Demonstration Program. The first flight of the X-51A scramjet demonstrator is now on track for December 2009. The talk will begin with introducing the development/design/testing of the X41 and X51 aircrafts, followed by the highlights of fundamental combustion research in supersonic model combustors, with topics including flameholding mechanism, combustion performance, fuel injection, effects of thermally/catalytically cracked kerosene, and injection and heat transfer of aviation kerosene at supercritical conditions. Furthermore, new research directions for the development of advanced hypersonic propulsion systems with particular attention to rationale for hypersonic flight testing and considerations in the design of flight experiments will be briefly addressed and discussed.
Biography
Dr. Chih-Jen (Jackie) Sung is School of Engineering Professor in Sustainable Energy in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of Connecticut. He served as a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Case Western Reserve University from 1999 to 2009. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the National Chiao Tung University in 1986, M.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the National Taiwan University in 1988, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University in 1991 and 1994, respectively. Dr. Sung’s research and teaching interests have included structure of chemically reacting flow, catalytic combustion, micro-propulsion, laser diagnostics, supersonic combustion, unsteady and high-pressure flame phenomena, soot and NOx formation, flame extinction and ignition, and development of detailed and reduced chemical kinetic models for aliphatic fuels combustion. His research is funded by various federal and industrial sponsors. He is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA. He received the 1998 Best Paper Award from the 12th Microgravity Science and Space Processing Symposium at the 36th AIAA Aerospace Science Meeting, the National Science Foundation early CAREER development award in 2002, the 2004 and 2006 Northern Ohio AIAA Best Paper Awards, and the Distinguished Paper Award in Colloquium Laminar Flames from the 31st International Symposium on Combustion in 2007. He has also received awards for teaching including the Graduate Teaching Award of the Case School of Engineering and the Case Western Reserve University Srinivasa P. Gutti Memorial Engineering Teaching Award. He is author or co-author of over 95 archival publications in combustion and propulsion.

Sponsored By: Mechanical Engineering

Pamphlet/Flyer: View file here