The Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering

invites you to hear

"Aerothermodynamics Research for
NextGeneration Hypersonic Platforms"

by

Prof. Venkat Narayanswamy

Professor | North Carolina State University 

Tuesday, October 29
3 - 4 p.m.
MK 317
 

About the Talk: 
My research group focuses on niche aerodynamics and propulsion related problems that make critical contributions to future hypersonic platforms. We have ongoing projects that contribute towards widening the operating margin of dual mode ramjet inlets, unraveling the scramjet inlet/combustor coupling at various operation modes, investigating the hypersonic fluid structure interactions over flexible panels, and developing aerodynamic solutions to achieve tactical boost glide capabilities in hypersonic missile systems. This talk will provide a broad overview of the different research directions in our lab and focus on the first item, wherein we develop a new understanding of the shock boundary layer interaction phenomena that occur in axisymmetric internal flows to unravel the inlet unstart physics.

Inlet unstart is an enduring problem that inhibit the scramjet from widening its operation to lower Mach numbers and poses a critical bottleneck during turbo/ram/scram mode transitions. The unstart issue is particularly harsh in axisymmetric inlets where even incidence angle causes the inlet to unstart in prior studies at NASA. We made detailed investigations of model axisymmetric inlet/isolators to unravel the fundamental aerothermodynamic physics that causes the observed inlet unstart propensity. We further extended the investigations to rectangular inlets, where the flow is substantially more three dimensional than axisymmetric. The findings of these investigations provided new insights into the physical processes that determine the separation scales in internal flows and approaches to counter the flow separation. Apart from unstart issue, the findings on the flow development within the inlets are very critical as they determine the inflow distortions and unsteadiness that feed into the combustor.

About the Speaker: 
Dr. Venkat Narayanaswamy is an Associate Professor at Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department of NCSU, where he has served the department since 2012. He directs a lab comprising eight graduate students and four undergraduate students focusing on high-speed aerodynamics/propulsion and energy related topics. Dr. Venkat Narayanaswamy received his doctoral degree from The University of Texas at Austin specializing in shock boundary interaction physics and plasma-based control. Subsequently, he pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at The University of Texas at Austin and RWTH Aachen, Germany, before joining NCSU. Dr. Narayanaswamy has authored over 25 journal publications and over 25 articles in peer-reviewed conferences. He has been recognized with numerous research awards and honors including the AFOSR DURIP Award (2018), AFOSR Young Investigator Program Award (2016), Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship (2016), and North Carolina Space Grant New Investigator Award (2014).