Hypersonic Flow Analysis

Overview: For Dr. Joseph Kuehl’s laboratory as part of a broader defense research initiative, this project aimed to improve hypersonic vehicle performance (speed, drag, thermal stability) by quantifying how high-speed air flows over strategically heated vehicle surfaces. I investigated the stability of hypersonic boundary‐layer flow over a heated cylindrical surface and examined how surface temperature variations (e.g., +50 K vs. –50 K) affect the transition from laminar to turbulent flow.