Recreating hypersonic flight conditions for material testing is the goal behind the new device being developed by researchers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, the team is developing a new technology that uses fewer energy resources and will work hand in hand with the ultrabright X-rays of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the DOE’s Argonne facility. This device is expected to simulate the extreme heat fluctuations and stresses encountered during flight at five to seven times the speed of sound.

Seetha Raghavan, aerospace engineering professor and a co-principal investigator on the project, said:

“Recreating the environment of hypersonic flight can be complicated. There are so many factors and no perfect way to test them all. High enthalpy wind tunnels that can simulate the wind speed use a lot of energy resources and are limited in access.”

The addition of APS X-rays is critical to the project's success, as it will capture detailed data during testing. Already in the final stages of the upgrade, the X-ray beams of the APS are up to 500 times brighter, making it the world’s brightest synchrotron X-ray facility and suitable for analyzing even the thinnest hypersonic materials possible. 

Victoria Cooley, an APS beamline scientist, shared her excitement for the upgraded X-ray beam and experiment station:

“Brighter X-rays allow us to probe deep into materials with a higher-resolution beam and map very thin samples like these. At the same time, we have installed faster, more sensitive detectors to capture chemical or crystallographic changes occurring incredibly quickly. These two pieces come together to make world-changing projects such as this one possible.”

Read the full article here to learn more about the upgraded X-ray technology.

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