A trav\u00e9s de una asociaci\u00f3n con la Marina de EEUU, la universidad de Notre Dame (EEUU – Indiana) ha pasado los \u00faltimos tres a\u00f1os construyendo un t\u00fanel de viento de Mach 10. La instalaci\u00f3n, que puede simular condiciones de vuelo hasta 10 veces la velocidad del sonido, impulsar\u00e1 los esfuerzos fundamentales de investigaci\u00f3n hipers\u00f3nica y proporcionar\u00e1 un entorno m\u00e1s realista en el que probar la tecnolog\u00eda de alta velocidad.<\/p>\n
A first-of-its-kind test facility unveiled earlier this month at the University of Notre Dame could improve the Pentagon\u2019s hypersonic research and test enterprise.<\/p>\n
Through a partnership with the Navy, the university has spent the last three years building a Mach 10 wind tunnel. The facility, which can simulate flight conditions up to 10 times the speed of sound, will boost Notre Dame\u2019s fundamental hypersonic research efforts and provide a more realistic environment in which to test high-speed technology.<\/p>\n
Along with its ability to mimic flight conditions at high speeds, the facility is quiet, which means it\u2019s able to reduce the level of disturbance wind tunnels can create, providing an even more flight-representative environment.<\/p>\n
The opening of the Mach 10 tunnel is a continuation of the university\u2019s deep heritage in flight research, Jeffrey Rhoads, vice president of research at Notre Dame, told Defense News. The new facility advances that legacy by enabling fundamental research that addresses some of today\u2019s toughest national security challenges, he said.<\/p>\n
Hypersonic vehicles can fly and maneuver at speeds above Mach 5, and advances in this technology by Russia and China are driving a sense of urgency within the Defense Department\u00a0to field hypersonic systems of its own<\/a>. The Pentagon relies on wind tunnels and other testbeds to research and validate flight characteristics for these vehicles, but those facilities are in high demand, limiting access even for major programs.<\/p>\n Bottlenecks in DOD\u2019s research and test enterprise<\/a>\u00a0provide an opportunity for academia to fill some of those gaps. Along with Notre Dame\u2019s new Mach 10 facility, Purdue University last year opened a\u00a0Hypersonics and Applied Research Facility<\/a>\u00a0that hosts a Mach 8 quiet wind tunnel and a hypersonic pulse shock tunnel that uses shock waves of high-temperature air to simulate flight scenarios at speeds from Mach 5 to Mach 40.<\/p>\n \u201cOur interest remains in trying to push the fundamental understanding of science and engineering and addressing the hard questions that exist there,\u201d Rhoads said. \u201cWe view ourselves as filling that early gap.\u201d<\/p>\n Much of that partnership happens through DOD\u2019s University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics, or UCAH. The group of more than 90 colleges, including Notre Dame, collaborates with the department and industry to support hypersonic development. The Pentagon\u2019s Joint Hypersonics Transition Office solicits research and prototype projects from consortium members in a range of technology areas, including materials and structures, air-breathing propulsion and guidance and navigation.<\/p>\n Tom Corke, director of Notre Dame\u2019s Hypersonic Systems Initiative, told Defense News in the same interview with Rhoads that the work with DOD\u2019s academic consortium has helped the university mature its fundamental hypersonic research so that it can be applied to flight vehicle development and design efforts within the department.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think that some of what we\u2019re doing will, in fact, get on a vehicle in a relatively short time,\u201d Corke said. \u201cAcademic funding, in many ways, has been very fundamental and there\u2019s quite a gap between that and the actual application, but UCAH is redesigned to accelerate that.\u201d<\/p>\n Notre Dame is also partnered with defense and commercial companies building hypersonic systems that offer the university insight into the challenges they\u2019re facing and can help fund research to address those issues. Much of that work is geared toward DOD\u2019s push to field high-speed systems, but the university\u00a0also works with companies like Hermeus<\/a>, which has an eye on future applications like commercial transport.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get our ideas from industry,\u201d Corke said. \u201cTheir problems become our ideas in terms of research, and that way we can contribute to solving those problems.\u201d<\/p>\n