Sandia Preparatory (109)

The Sandia Prep team (#109) is from Albuquerque. This year they've submitted a project titled Creating an Ideal Scramjet Engine.

Proposal
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_proposal1112.php?team_id=109

Manned Hypersonics

Team: 109

School: Sandia Preparatory

Area of Science: Aronautical engineering and fluid modeling

Proposal: Team 109 In short, I plan to design a new manned hypersonic aircraft capable of ferrying cargo about 8,000 miles at about mach 5. This we be completed most likely by using Overflow, a computational fluid dynamics software package. I would like to be able to include waveriding in my hypersonic vehicle, but I may not be able to. One of the biggest challenges will be designing a hybrid turbofan/scramjet engine so that the aircraft can take off and get to altitude and speed before using the scramjet.

Team Members: Alex Burd

Sponsoring Teacher: Neil McBeth

Interim Report
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_interim1112.php?team_id=109

Creating an Ideal Scramjet Engine

Team: 109

School: Sandia Preparatory

Area of Science: Aeronautical Engineering and Fluid Dynamics Aeronautical Engineering and Fluid Dynamics

Problem Definition:

Hypersonic aircraft are just now emerging from NASA, and once developed stronger they will be used in numerous applications. Uses range from rapid military logistics, such as the DARPA falcon HTV-2, which will be able to deliver a payload (most likely weaponized) anywhere in the world in under an hour, to high speed passenger flights, which could go from New York to Tokyo in two and a half hours. The main problem is that hypersonic aircraft as we know them require two different engines to function; a conventional turbofan to get to the proper speed and altitude, and a scramjet to then begin hypersonic flight. However, carrying two different engines is not practical. The military has developed and is developing hybrid turbojet/ramjets, but ramjets are not as efficient as scramjets for hypersonic flight. Therefore, I am going to attempt to create a hybrid turbojet/scramjet.

Problem Solution:

Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), I am going to design a series of hybrid engines in CAD and test them. Since there are several different equations that are used for different types of CFD solutions, I needed to pick ones that would work for my problem. After a couple weeks of research I had my solution; Navier-Stokes equations with a Baldwin-Lomax turbulent limiter.

Progress to Date:

As mentioned previously, I selected the ideal equations for my project. Also, after several weeks of searching, I found probably the best suited software for my project. NASA’s Glenn Research Center created a software program called SWIFT v.400. I encountered a slight problem. The necessary FORTRAN compiler is only used on high end IBM, HP, and Cray computers. I discussed my problem with my sponsoring teacher, who informed me about the challenges ability to draft a Cray, so I will have to look in to that.

Expected Results:

I have a strong feeling that this model will work, seeing as it has been operationally used as a hybrid turbojet/ramjet in the 1960’s on the SR-71 Blackbird. If the technology existed then, I’m sure it exists now even though scramjets are more powerful than ramjets. Should this prove practical, it would be the first instance of this type of technology ever tested, so I am hoping things go well for the project.

Team Member: Alex Burd

Sponsoring Teacher: Neil McBeth

=Interim Comments=

Hello Team 109, My name is Ramesh Shakamuri. I have worked in IT and Software development for the past 15 years on the technical and functional side, developing enterprise systems or managing the software development process.

You have selected an ambitious scope of research area and I have some concerns that you need to narrow down your scope to successfully meet the April deadline.

1) You chose the Navier-Stokes equations with a Baldwin-Lomax turbulent limiter for modeling, using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). You need to come up with a hypothesis on how best these equations best support your thesis.

2) “Also, after several weeks of searching, I found probably the best suited software for my project” What was the criteria used to arrive at this conclusion?

3) “The necessary FORTRAN compiler is only used on high end IBM, HP, and Cray computers. I discussed my problem with my sponsoring teacher, who informed me about the challenges ability to draft a Cray, so I will have to look in to that”. Tweaking the code to run on a Cray is a major undertaking in itself and I am concerned that you may not have enough time.

4) You still need to lay out the groundwork on the approach you will be taking in utilizing the FORTRAN program for developing a computational model for a scramjet design. You also need to focus on converting the output into developing a computational model using StarLogo or NetLogo. You have made a good start in organizing what tools are needed but need to use this information to demonstrate as a theoretical computational model.

Good luck and congratulations on all of the hard work to get to this point.

=Team Comments=