MARCH 15, 2024 -- WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A team at the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI), the university's research and development center, is using state-of-the-art additive-manufacturing equipment to print a full-scale, fully operational prototype of a supersonic combustion ramjet, or scramjet, an engine that allows aircraft to travel at speeds of Mach 5 and beyond.

Researchers in PARI's Hypersonics Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center (HAMTC) believe this innovative scramjet design paves the way for more affordable and expedient prototyping and manufacturing processes across the hypersonics industry.

"There's no other university-affiliated institution with the capability to manufacture and then test hypersonic technologies at flight-relevant scales and conditions," said graduate research assistant Will DeVerter, who created the full-scale scramjet prototype with senior test engineer Nick Strahan. "Once we have a part or system ready to go, I can walk it across the street and test it using some of the best propulsion and diagnostic technology in the world. That?s a unique capability that streamlines the entire manufacturing and testing process." 

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