Joint Colloquium: Richard Morgan
Shock and expansion tunnels for the study of hypervelocity flows
Dr. Richard Morgan, Centre for Hypersonics at the University of Queensland, Australia.
Abstract: Due to the very high energy and power density levels involved in hypervelocity and hyperbolic flight, the study of the aerothermodynamic processes involved is limited in the laboratory primarily to the use of pulsed facilities. This includes reflected and non-reflected shock tubes, expansion tubes and variations which include hypersonic nozzles to expand the core flow diameter and increase the local freestream Mach number. Plasma facilities can reproduce the associated enthalpies and are very useful for materials testing and heat transfer reproduction, but due to the highly dissociated and ionised test gas they give limited validity in the simulation of hypersonic flow fields. This talk will cover the range of facility types used for hypersonic research, and discuss the limitations and capabilities of selected facilities.
Richard Morgan graduated with a Doctorate of Philosophy on the use of infrared scanning for heat transfer measurements in hypersonic flows from Oxford University in 1977, and has been a full time researcher/academic continuously ever since.
In 1997 he was one of the founding Directors of the Centre for Hypersonics which is the leading organisation in the field in Australia, and which enjoys a worldwide reputation. Dr. Richard Morgan held the position of Director of this institution until 2022.
The Centre for Hypersonics has achieved many technical successes, including the world’s first successful flight tests of supersonic combustion in the HyShot program. The UQ Centre regularly collaborates with organisations such as NASA, ESA, AOARD.
Richard Morgan has a strong research record in the development of hypervelocity impulsive facilities on which the UQ Centre for Hypersonics research program is based, including the 'X' series of super- orbital expansion tubes, and has extensive experience in hypersonic aero-thermo-dynamics and scramjet propulsion. He has graduated 36 PhD student (2 ongoing) and 2 Masters students.
The lecture will take place at the Anfiteatro Abreu Faro, Instituto Superior Técnico on Thursday 6 June 2024, at 14:00. The event is a collaborative colloquium organised by the Department of Physics and the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
