Civil Engineering Assistant Professor Han-Gyu Kim still has the printed copy of the magazine story that has served as daily motivation.
When Kim was a graduate student at the University of Washington from 2014–19, his advisor received a Young Investigator Program (YIP) award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). The program supports young scientists and engineers who have received PhD or equivalent degrees within the last seven years and show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research.
The award was featured in the Spring 2019 issue of the magazine of the University of Washington’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Kim’s advisor, Richard Wiebe, is an associate professor in the department. Kim kept the printed issue.
Kim made it one of his career goals to receive a YIP award when he began his PhD study 12 years ago, and he achieved the accomplishment this year. Kim has received $450,000 over three years from AFOSR to fund his project, “Multiscale and multi-physics characterization and modeling of nonlinear dynamics and damage growth in composite aerostructures in extreme and coupled loading environments.”
Kim’s project is focused on designing enhanced composite structures and developing accurate damage prediction tools for hypersonic aerostructures in extreme environments.
“This is one of the most prestigious awards in my field,” Kim said. “It really means a lot to me to achieve this in my young academic career, and I am excited to do the research at the University of Tennessee, which has a great research ecosystem in place to support this.”
Extreme Environment Materials
Kim is collaborating on the project with the Structural Sciences Center at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio to help with next-generation vehicle design and modeling for Air Force and other Department of War (DOW) agencies.
Modern supersonic aircraft increasingly use polymer composites for lightweight load-bearing structures. DoW agencies are now planning next-generation hypersonic vehicles that use advanced composites for both primary structures and thermal protection systems.
The structures must endure extreme environments. They can thermally buckle and vibrate in complex ways, which amplifies internal stresses and accelerates fatigue damage. Current modeling tools don’t fully capture the coupled physics induced by aerothermodynamics, and most current high-speed wind tunnel tests focus on metals such as titanium and alloy steel.
Kim’s project aims to close the gap by developing a multiscale, multi-physics experimental and modeling framework that links thermal buckling, complex vibrations, and damage progression in composites.
“The uniqueness of my proposal is how I have connected them,” Kim said. “Maybe people have a deeper understanding than me in an individual part, but this model will be taking several elements and looking at things from a more macroscopic level.”
Next-Generation Hypersonic Design Tool
Kim’s work is focused on building a framework based on studies of new carbon-fiber plastic materials that can handle extreme heat from supersonic flight. He is also working on a way to develop even stronger materials for hypersonic flight, like ceramic-based composites and carbon-carbon composites.
His project will develop a database of experimental results and modeling codes for a digital twin tool that accurately predicts the structural life of composite aerostructures under severe thermal and aerodynamic loads.
“With this tool, we can test many different design parameters without having to rely on actual flight testing, which can be very expensive and takes lots of time,” Kim said. “Once we make this model through robust validation with the experimental data, we can model and simulate different design parameters, different loading scenarios, and environmental scenarios. Then, we can help ensure the structural safety of hypersonic vehicles in many different cases.”
Kim’s arrival at UT this fall was perfectly timed for his YIP award. The university has resources such as hypersonic wind tunnels and expertise in design and manufacturing of hypersonic-grade materials that can benefit Kim’s work.
The overriding goal is to help the Air Force and DOW agencies design lighter, safer, and more economical high-speed aircraft.
“This research addresses a real need for the Air Force and DOW agencies, which is reusable high-speed vehicles that can withstand extreme heat and aerodynamic loading,” Kim said. “This project will build a great foundation for my research, because now that I have joined UT, we have a great hypersonic ecosystem here. That will allow me to level up this research with what we have here.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])