Materials design for hypersonics

Adam B Peters; Dajie Zhang; Samuel Chen; Catherine Ott; Corey Oses; Stefano Curtarolo; Ian McCue; Tresa M Pollock; Suhas Eswarappa Prameela

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-46753-3

Materials design for hypersonics

Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 18;15(1):3328. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46753-3.

Authors

Adam B Peters¹, Dajie Zhang², Samuel Chen³, Catherine Ott⁴, Corey Oses², Stefano Curtarolo^{5

6}, Ian McCue⁴, Tresa M Pollock⁷, Suhas Eswarappa Prameela^{8

9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA. apeter57@alumni.jh.edu.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
³ Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, 20723, USA.
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.
⁶ Center for Extreme Materials, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.
⁷ Department of Materials Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
⁸ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA. suhasep@mit.edu.
⁹ Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 21218, MD, USA. suhasep@mit.edu.
¹⁰ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. suhasep@mit.edu.
¹¹ Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. suhasep@mit.edu.

Abstract

Hypersonic vehicles must withstand extreme conditions during flights that exceed five times the speed of sound. These systems have the potential to facilitate rapid access to space, bolster defense capabilities, and create a new paradigm for transcontinental earth-to-earth travel. However, extreme aerothermal environments create significant challenges for vehicle materials and structures. This work addresses the critical need to develop resilient refractory alloys, composites, and ceramics. We will highlight key design principles for critical vehicle areas such as primary structures, thermal protection, and propulsion systems; the role of theory and computation; and strategies for advancing laboratory-scale materials to manufacturable flight-ready components.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

Publication types

Grants and funding