Projects
Sponsored Research Projects
Active
Dragonfly Fuselage
Aerodynamic design and analysis supporting the fuselage of NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft lander, which will fly to Saturn's moon Titan. CFAL's work spans rotor-fuselage interaction, heatshield/backshell separation aerodynamics, in-ground-effect and outwash/saltation behavior on Titan's surface, and wind-tunnel uncertainty quantification.
NASA (subcontract through Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory)
BRITE PIVOT
Development of functional, light-matter-interaction-based sensors manufactured and characterized in low-gravity and microgravity space environments, in support of in-space manufacturing capability.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Atmospheric Flight Path Prediction
Real-time and near-real-time CFD-based prediction of atmospheric flight trajectories, supporting rapid decision-making for aerospace systems operating in complex, evolving atmospheric conditions.
DARPA (subcontract through Mississippi State University)
Aerothermal Cargo Downmassing
Design and analysis of thermal protection systems for high-speed atmospheric entry vehicles used to return cargo to Earth, addressing aerothermal loading during hypersonic reentry.
U.S. Air Force (subcontract through Cardinal Engineering)
Completed
Rocket Cargo Optimization
Aerodynamic and logistical optimization supporting rapid, point-to-point rocket-based cargo delivery, coupling CFD-based aerodynamic modeling with supply-chain and logistics optimization.
U.S. Space Force
Shock-Droplet Structural Loading
Multiscale simulation and experimental characterization of shock-droplet interactions at hypersonic conditions, including cavitation effects, to assess structural loading on high-speed vehicles encountering rain and atmospheric water droplets.
AFOSR (subcontract through Boston University)
eVTOL Aerodynamic Assessments
Computational aerodynamic assessment of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft concept, conducted in two phases for two industry sponsors.
AiBOT; Maviate
Lens-Free Imaging in Microgravity
Development of lens-free imaging (LFI) methods to measure microfluidic fluid flow and its effect on bone cell activity under altered-gravity conditions, including a suborbital flight demonstration.
NASA (subcontract IMEC); Florida High Tech Corridor (FHTC); UCF Office of Research Commercialization (ORC)
Transpiration-Cooled Entry Trajectory Control
Numerical evaluation of using active porosity control of a transpiration-cooled thermal protection system to steer an atmospheric entry vehicle's trajectory.
NASA
STEM Readiness in Space Technology
Education and outreach project building STEM readiness pathways toward careers in space technology.
NASA
COVID-19 Airborne Transmission
Numerical and experimental study of airborne pathogen transmission via saliva droplets and sneezing, including classroom social-distancing guidance and mitigation strategies, spanning three related awards.
NSF; UCF/ORC Florida High Tech Corridor Council; International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA)
Sand-Blasting Nozzle Aeroacoustics
Computational fluid dynamics and computational aeroacoustics (CFD/CAA) analysis to optimize sandblasting nozzle designs for reduced noise generation.
ONR (SBIR, subcontract through NCE); Noise Control Engineering
Cavity-Rocket Interaction
High-fidelity prediction of the interaction between a rocket exhaust plume and a gaseous cavity for supercavitating high-speed underwater vehicles.
ONR
High-Speed Supercavitating Vehicle
CFD development and analysis in support of high-speed, supercavitating underwater vehicle design.
ONR
Rotorcraft Icing
High-fidelity computational prediction of ice accretion on rotorcraft surfaces, including discrete element roughness modeling of ice-roughened aerodynamic surfaces.
NASA
Ice-Roughened Heat Transfer (Rotorcraft)
Modeling of convective heat transfer on ice-roughened aerodynamic surfaces to improve helicopter ice-accretion prediction.
National Rotorcraft Technology Center (NRTC)
Ship-Airwake/Helicopter Interaction (ABL)
High-fidelity simulation of ship airwakes modified by atmospheric boundary-layer turbulence and their effect on helicopter flight dynamics during shipboard operations.
National Rotorcraft Technology Center (NRTC)
Wind-Turbine Loading
Large-eddy simulation study of wind turbine blade and shaft loading driven by atmospheric boundary-layer turbulence structure.
NSF
Rocket Cargo Supply Chain
Modeling and optimization of the logistics supply chain underlying rocket-based cargo delivery concepts, building on CFAL's aerodynamic and systems-engineering work in rocket cargo delivery.
AFRL (Phase I SBIR)
Ship Airwake Prediction
Real-time simulation methods for predicting helicopter flight dynamics operating within the turbulent airwake behind a ship superstructure, supporting safer shipboard rotorcraft operations.
Navy (Phase I SBIR)