NEWS | EUREKA!
Experimental hypersonic
scramjet sets thrust record
AN EXPERIMENTAL NORTHROP
Grumman scramjet has set a new
US Air Force record for the highest
thrust produced by an air-breathing
hypersonic engine.
During ground tests conducted
by the Air Force Research
Laboratory (ARFL) and Air Force
Test Centre, the engine delivered
more than 13,000 pounds (57,850
Newtons) of thrust. The ninemonth
test programme at Arnold
Air Force Base, Tennessee saw the
18-foot scramjet deliver a combined
30 minutes of combustion time,
performing in test conditions that
simulated speeds in excess of Mach
4. Hypersonic ight is generally
accepted as Mach 5 and above.
According to the AFRL, the
engine was born on the back of
the X-51 Waverider programme,
an experimental scramjet
built by Boeing that launches
from under the wing of a B-52
bomber. In May 2013, the X-51
reached speeds in excess
of Mach 5 for 210 seconds,
making it the longest duration
hypersonic ight ever.
Before ground testing could
even take place, the Arnold
Engineering Development
Complex on the Air Base had to
undergo a two-year upgrade, as
no existing US test facilities could
produce the requisite airspeeds or
thermal conditions.
“Our collective team has worked
hard over the past few years to
get to where we are today,” said
Sean Smith, lead for the AEDC
Hypersonic Systems Combined
Test Force ground test team.
“These groundbreaking tests will
lead the way for future hypersonic
vehicles for a range of missions.”
SOLUTION TO LAST MONTH’S COFFEE TIME CHALLENGE
The solution to last month’s
Co ee Time Challenge, which
was to come up with a device
that removes or covers up
skin blemishes like a real-life
Instagram lter, is the Opté
Precision Skincare System from
consumer goods giant, Procter
and Gamble.
The handheld device, which
is basically a tiny inkjet
printer, uses sensors to detect
the colour and the pigmentation
of your skin, spots blemishes and
precisely applies tiny droplets of
makeup that are the exact colour
of the surrounding skin.
It takes 200 pictures of
your skin per second and 120
nozzles deposit one billionth
of a litre of makeup onto each
skin spot it detects.
According to Lauren Thaman,
communications
leader, P&G
Ventures, the
device will work
on all skin tones
with light, medium
or dark cartridges
available. She adds
that the make-up
is anti-ageing so
blemishes like age spots will
disappear over time and it won’t
perspire o because so little skin
is being covered.
CFD FOR
AEROSPACE
THE CENTRE FOR
Modelling & Simulation
(CFMS) has teamed up with
Zenotech, Aircraft Research
Association and Bombardier
to develop a high-order
computational uid
dynamics (CFD) technology
for the aerospace industry.
The £1.55 million Aero
Flux project, which is part
funded by the Department
for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy (BEIS),
the Aerospace Technology
Institute (ATI) and Innovate
UK, will enable the R&D of
advanced high-order CFD
methods beyond baseline
technologies currently used
by the aerospace industry.
The three-year project,
which is being led by CFMS,
will develop the capability for
uid-structure interaction,
broadband acoustics,
accelerated time-stepping,
advanced high-order mesh
generation and multidisciplinary
coupling. This
will address the latest
aerospace requirements with
a greater level of accuracy.
Sam Paice, CEO at CFMS,
said: “This will generate new
opportunities, challenges
and novel innovation, where
physical testing of the end
product will be reduced and
the e ciency, speed and cost
of the product development
process will be improved.”
10 WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK | SEPTEMBER 2019
/WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK