SBIR-STTR Award

The need for innovative combined cycle engines for Space Access and hypersonic vehicles leads the Air Force design engineers to the requirement for analysis tools that provide higher levels of fidelity than are available today. The engines for these vehicles, rather than being separate systems, are integrated systems that share inlets, nozzles and in many cases, combustor flow paths. Because analytical results play a larger role in the design of such systems than in the past, it is necessary to have software that provides better answers. A new flow analysis tool concept will be developed, that is both a design tool and an assessment tool. It will provide Air Force designers with the ability to design combined cycle engine flow paths, as well as give them the ability to assess designs submitted by contractors. It will be based on the idea of portable parametric parts, so that designs can be worked between labs. It will have an open published interface, so that industry and academia can create components that can be used or assessed by the Air Force. It will live in a distributed environment so that geographically separated team members may collaborate via the web or private networks. The results of this work will be a software tool to give Air Force engineers both a design and assessment tool for multi flow path combined cycle engines and the ability to work on these engines in a collaborative environment. It will also provide an open interface to the engineering components so that industry, academia, and other government labs can work together on design projects efficiently.

The need for innovative combined cycle engines for Space Access and hypersonic vehicles leads the Air Force design engineers to the requirement for analysis tools that provide higher levels of fidelity than are available today. The engines for these vehicles, rather than being separate systems, are integrated systems that share inlets, nozzles and in many cases, combustor flow paths. Because analytical results play a larger role in the design of such systems than in the past, it is necessary to have software that provides better answers. A new flow analysis tool concept will be developed, that is both a design tool and an assessment tool. It will provide Air Force designers with the ability to design combined cycle engine flow paths, as well as give them the ability to assess designs submitted by contractors. It will be based on the idea of portable parametric parts, so that designs can be worked between labs. It will have an open published interface, so that industry and academia can create components that can be used or assessed by the Air Force. It will live in a distributed environment so that geographically separated team members may collaborate via the web or private networks.

Keywords:
supersonic, hypersonic , flowpath analysis, long range strike bomber,combined cycle engine