Abstract
Propulsion technology (i.e. turbines) is what allows flight vehicles to move and has been a research topic since before the Wright Brother’s first flight in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Propulsion technology, as of the early 2000s, is so advanced that improving something like their fuel efficiency, by even a percentage point, would be groundbreaking. In my technical and STS research, I looked at the problem of efficiency in aerospace propulsion. Increasing efficiency in aerospace propulsion is important because it will allow for less resource consumption, reduced emissions, and farther travel distances without downgrading passenger or storage volume. More specifically, in my technical research, my team investigated the hypersonic flight regime, which includes anything that moves faster than five times the speed of sound, to build a missile that can be propelled to these speeds. In my STS research, I investigated sustainable aviation and the different means of making flight vehicles move while reducing their carbon footprint.
In my technical research, our group took the overall problem of aerospace propulsion efficiency and researched how to design an unpowered hypersonic projectile. To generate a solution to this problem and create an effective design, our group began with an intensive research phase into hypersonics, computational modeling, and machine learning. Using a workflow that leveraged the Kriging Method and numerous CFD simulations, we were able to generate a design that won the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics Undergraduate Hypersonic Flight Design Competition. The team will soon recreate the flight vehicle we designed to optimize it for real world testing at an industry test site. Results from the hypersonic ground testing will be used to further optimize our team’s computational models and aerodynamic design. Although this research is not specifically propulsion, creation of more aerodynamically efficient designs will allow for easier propulsion at hypersonic speeds in the future.
In my STS research, I investigated the global problem of aviation emissions through the research question: how can aviation industry emissions be reduced and how could reducing emissions alter daily life for people in the United States? Most importantly, I found that while there are many developed, and developing, sustainable aviation technologies, most of them are not widely used. This is important because without the widespread application of these technologies, the negative effects of aviation emissions such as contributions to climate change and poor health will continue to affect life on Earth. Furthermore, application of these technologies at scale is predicted to have massive economic impact. Through this research, I argue that the United States' government, should invest into these technologies for the benefit of their citizens using the deontological theoretical framework (Johnson, 2020, ch 3).
The overall problem of efficiency in aerospace propulsion is one that is continually evolving. Both my STS and technical research only cover small portions of what could be explored, investigating specific fields of aerospace propulsion, namely hypersonic propulsion and sustainable aviation. More work must be conducted in this field to continually improve aerospace propulsion, whether it be in hypersonics, sustainability, or space propulsion. Space propulsion is especially interesting as new and improved methods will be required to allow humans to travel further than ever before. This would allow space travel seen in movies like Project Hail Mary, where characters travel light years away from Earth, to become a reality. Furthermore, as outlined in my STS research, sustainability in aerospace, and in general, is an extremely important technical field. Therefore, research must be continually conducted to allow the aerospace industry to be a better steward of our environmental resources.
I would like to acknowledge everyone on my technical research team for their hard work and dedication to our project: Victoria Sun, Eric Voight, Michael Novak, Channing Reynolds, Kayla Kadlubek, Lukas Hange, Joshua Stoner, Genevieve Forrer, Owen McGileberry, Ava Frodsham, Sorren Poole, Joseph McPhail, and Arwen Nicolau. I would also like to thank my technical research advisors Dr. Christopher Goyne and Dr. Xinfeng Gau and my STS advisor Dr. Caitlin Wylie.
Notes
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering
Technical Advisor: Christopher Goyne, Xinfeng Gao
STS Advisor: Caitlin Wylie
Technical Team Members: Victoria Sun, Eric Voight, Michael Novak, Channing Reynolds, Kayla Kadlubek, Lukas Hange, Joshua Stoner, Genevieve Forrer, Owen McGileberry, Ava Frodsham, Sorren Poole, Joseph McPhail, Arwen Nicolau
