August 2024 - Physical Sciences Inc.

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy to develop a real-time, throttle control system for solid rocket motors capable of thrust reduction up to 80%.

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to develop and demonstrate a real-time thrust control system for solid rocket motors (SRM). PSI’s innovative thrust control mechanism will overcome the long-time challenges that have prevented SRM designers from achieving active throttle control. PSI’s concept is able to achieve thrust turndown ratios >5:1 with minimal impact to the system mass. In addition, the solution is amenable to conventional aluminized propellants and thrust vector control architecture, thus decreasing the development time required to integrate thrust control into existing systems. The thrust control system will feature state of the art software defined control mechanisms enabling real-time thrust control. The Phase I effort will focus on experimental feasibility of the thrust control system through cold-gas testing with both fixed thrust and dynamically controlled thrust profiles that culminate in 2×4 rocket motor hot-fire tests using a highly aluminized composite propellant. In Phase II, PSI plans to develop flight-like hardware and scale up testing to 5” diameter systems.

For more information contact:

Dr. Jeffrey Wegener
Vice President, Propulsion & Energetics
jwegener@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Office: (978) 689-0003

Acknowledgement of Sponsorship: This work is supported under a contract with the Naval Air Warfare Center. This support does not constitute an express or implied endorsement on the part of the Government.

Press Release

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Air Force to develop a static pressure probe capable of withstanding the aerothermal loads of a hypersonic ground test facility.

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to develop a static pressure probe for hypersonic and high enthalpy flow facilities, which will implement an integral heatsink design to cool the static probe heads and enable sustained operation at heat loads up to 300 W/cm². This new sensor capability will enable ground test facilities to accurately diagnose the free-stream conditions present in supersonic and hypersonic flows without destruction or degradation of the probe. During the proposed Phase I effort, PSI will build two static pressure probes, one of which will be a cone-cylinder probe and the other will be a shortened length conical probe. These probes will then be exposed to hypersonic flow in PSI’s Hypersonic Material Testbed (HMT) where they will be calibrated using data from a Schlieren imaging system, and the cooling ability of the probe will be verified to guide the Phase II design. Using data from these experiments, a preliminary Phase II prototype probe-rake system will be designed to interface with the Aerodynamic and Propulsion Test Unit (APTU). That preliminary design will be reviewed with Air Force personnel and resulting feedback will be incorporated into the final prototype design built and tested in the subsequent Phase II program.

For more information contact:

Dr. David Oakes
Area Manager, Aerothermal Interactions Group
oakes@psicorp.com
Physical Sciences Inc.
Office: (978) 689-0003

Acknowledgement of Sponsorship: This work is supported by a contract with the Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC). This support does not constitute an express or implied endorsement on the part of the Government.