Austen Lee

This research was conducted at the Stevens Institute of Technology In New Jersey, by Dr. Nicholaus Parziale’s research group. Dr Parziale’s work is focused on Hypersonic flight, which is defined as when an object travels more than 5 times the speed of sound. Motion at such high speeds is characterized by extreme heating, fundamental chemical changes of air, and high aerodynamic forces. The goal of Dr. Parziale's research is to help better understand the hypersonic flight regime, which is quite poorly understood. Experiments are conducted by placing sample items in a hypersonic shock tunnel, which has the ability to generate airflows up to 6 times the speed of sound for short periods of time. By analyzing data on pressure, velocity, and temperature of the flow, hypersonic flight conditions can be studied and better understood. Dr. Parziale and his team are also experimenting with non-invasive techniques for velocimetry. One technique studied is krypton tagging velocimetry, which introduces the gas krypton into the tunnel to measure airflow velocity. Krypton tagging velocimetry has been used to analyze and understand hypersonic shock waves, and boundary layer interaction by collecting velocity data using krypton tagging velocimetry. Collected data is analyzed to better understand flow interactions and help create airflow models. Dr. Parziale’s work has applications in any area requiring fast flight, such as in spaceflight, where objects reentering the atmosphere significantly exceed 5 times the speed of sound causing extreme heating. Hypersonic aircraft have also been proposed and planned for the passenger and commercial industry, potentially reducing trip time by a factor of five.