LIFT Joins With University of Arizona On Hypersonics Research

Projects to focus on commercial and novel additively manufactured metallics for hypersonic systems

DETROIT – LIFT, the Detroit-based Department of Defense manufacturing innovation institute, today announced the launch of a partnership with The University of Arizona to support LIFT’s Hypersonic Thermal Management and Hypersonic Material Acceleration research programs.

With a strong history in physical metallurgy, the University of Arizona is supporting these programs through mechanical testing at elevated temperatures and in oxidative environments. The external influences – temperatures, pressures, and chemistry – that materials are exposed to in a hypersonic environment can vary widely from those observed in a standard lab. As such, testing beyond ambient lab conditions assists engineers in more accurately predicting material response in a hypersonic environment.

Particular tests, such as fatigue, can take a month or longer to complete, in turn, limiting engineers from rapidly qualifying materials, components, and computational models for critical missions. The University of Arizona will compare standard fatigue approaches with high-throughput characterization methods to more rapidly provide engineers and designers with data to support their solutions.

“We look forward to bringing our unique expertise to this hypersonics research coalition,” said Dr. Andrew Wessman, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona, “and work vital to our national defense.”

“Through these two programs, LIFT is advancing key manufacturing technologies for the Department of Defense, enhancing our national security via superior hypersonic performance,” said Noel Mack, Chief Technology Officer, LIFT.

Partners supporting LIFT’s hypersonics efforts are providing distinctive testing capabilities, data, and expertise to support advancement of LIFT’s Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) workflow for materials in hypersonic environments. LIFT has invested in and is continuing to develop an ICME toolchain that enables prediction of material properties in a target environment from starting geometry and chemistry, including processing, structure, and property models