HG Grimme SysTech delivers CFRP structural component milling equipment to BMW Group
HG Grimme SysTech delivers CFRP structural
component milling equipment to BMW Group
On the ground, sound waves travel at a speed of about 340 metres per second. When an aircraft exceeds the speed of sound it is called supersonic. Hypersonic speeds are more than five times the speed of sound or "Mach 5", or a little over 6,000 kilometres per hour. At Mach 5 and above, the friction caused by molecules flowing through a hypersonic aircraft can generate temperatures in excess of 2,000 degrees Celsius. Brisbane-based aerospace engineering startup Hypersonix Launch Systems is choosing materials to cope with these extremes.
Hypersonix Launch Systems was founded in 2019 to provide sustainable satellite launches from Australia using hypersonic supercombustion ram engine technology. In a short period of time, and in the shadow of the New Crown epidemic, the Hypersonix team of nearly 20 aeronautical engineers and materials experts developed reusable supercombustion ram engine technology for engines powered by sustainable green hydrogen fuel.
Dr Michael Smart, co-founder, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Research and Development at Hypersonix, is a recognised world leader in the field of overburning ram engine technology and worked as a research scientist at NASA Langley Research Centre (overburning ram engine sub-centre) before returning to Brisbane. His alma mater is the Hypermedia Centre at the University of Queensland, which is recognised globally as one of the leading university research groups in the field of hypersonics. Dr Smart insists that as access to space becomes cheaper and more frequent, space junk and rocket emissions from chemical propulsion are increasingly polluting the stratosphere. The development of a multi-mission spacecraft powered by green hydrogen, generated in an environmentally sustainable process that uses solar energy to extract hydrogen from water, is one solution.
"An overburning ramjet engine is a type of jet engine that relies on burning fuel and oxygen in the air to generate thrust. We developed the green hydrogen-powered SPARTAN supercombustion ramjet engine using Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC) to withstand the high temperatures experienced by spacecraft during space travel, particularly during the controlled re-entry phase. The high-temperature load lasts only about 20 minutes per flight, and for reusability at least 30 cycles are sufficient. cMC offers a high strength-to-weight ratio, high thermal shock resistance and toughness even at high temperatures. "Carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) can be used at temperatures of up to 1500°C." Dr Smart suggests.
Hypersonix's SPARTAN is capable of accelerating from Mach 5 to Mach 12. A Delta Velos vehicle powered by the SPARTAN engine would fly over 2,500 kilometres without emitting carbon dioxide or other harmful emissions, then land on a runway like a conventional aircraft and be in a position to land again.
Dr Smart insists that Hypersonix has no ambition to achieve vertical integration: "Our core knowledge is the emergency stop-stack jet engine and how to develop sustainable hypersonic aircraft. We are actively pursuing the development, durability and high temperature resistance of multipurpose launch vehicles and engines and their components." The company has recently formed partnerships with Southern Queensland University, Boeing Australia, Siemens and industrial gas company - BOC.
The Federal Government recognises that the new space economy is driven by private investment in start-ups and private technology interests. It is jump-starting the industry through grant aid and the establishment of relevant legal and regulatory frameworks to meet international obligations and facilitate industry development while maintaining safe operations in space and on Earth. It aims to triple the industry's contribution to GDP to US$12 billion by 2030 and create an additional 20,000 jobs. Last year, Hypersonix was awarded an accelerated commercialisation grant from the Australian Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.