AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Abstract

The Space Force has identified Space Mobility & Logistics (SML) as a core competency in its Spacepower doctrine. The Air Force Research Laboratory and its partners (including the Department of Defense, NASA, and commercial space providers) are correspondingly executing multiple research and development programs to explore the landing and delivery capability of reusable liquid rocket systems. One of the key technical challenges common to all of these programs is understanding the landing surface degradation mechanisms when exposed to the extreme environment of directly-impinging rocket plumes. Unique features of the liquid-fueled rocket plumes will be discussed and some ranges for the thermal and mechanical environments will be given with an emphasis on the transient and highly coupled nature of the loads. The superset of extreme environments provides context for another key research activity: understanding the dominant degradation and/or failure modes observed in laboratory, field, and full scale testing. Results from various experimental and computational tests with a variety of damage mechanisms will be shown. Finally, this presentation will also provide a brief overview of the practical difficulties of collecting data in these tests and comments on the state-of-the-art in extreme environment sensing and data acquisition.

Speaker

Dr. Jason Foley

He earned his Honors BS in physics (1998) and a MS in aerospace engineering (1999) from Auburn University and MS (2002) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in mechanical engineering from Cornell University. He is currently the Advanced Development Lead for Biotechnology at AFRLʼs Materials and Manufacturing Directorate where he leads a team developing biotechnologies for infrastructure, biomanufacturing, and human-domain sensing. He also leads multidisciplinary teams developing technology for space mobility and logistics. Previously, he led a research team in the AFRL Munitions Directorate where he performed basic and applied research in harsh environment-survivable electronics, sensors, and materials and more recently served as an International Program Officer at the U.S. Air Force's European Office of Aerospace Research and Development in London (United Kingdom).