Hypersonics at heart of Purdue, APL partnership

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Purdue University has announced a partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland. The university says the agreement involves a collaboration on hypersonic research and related technologies, including microelectronics, artificial intelligence and robotics.

Purdue says the research will involve the use of its “quiet” Mach 6 Ludwieg Tube at the Purdue University Airport. The facility, according to the university, is the “largest and most capable” wind tunnel in the world.

“In a typical hypersonic wind tunnel, there are pressure waves, acoustic waves that come off the nozzle and into the test section, which can change the results of aerodynamic experiments significantly,” said Joseph Jewell, an assistant professor at Purdue’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. “Ours is designed so that the level of those disturbances is up to 200 times smaller. This agreement with APL will allow us to collaborate in a way that’s much smoother and easier in the future.”

Per the terms of the agreement, APL will also provide Purdue faculty and students with access to its facilities, including its additive manufacturing hub in Maryland. They will also have access to subject matter experts in APL’s Force Projection Sector, Air and Missile Defense Sector, and Research and Exploratory Development Department.

Purdue says the partnership also aims to include the involvement of university graduate and doctoral students through internships and mentoring.

The university earlier this year announced plans to build the world’s first quiet Mach 8 wind tunnel with the help of a nearly $6 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory.