3D printed catalysts offer cooler hypersonic flights

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Hypersonic aircraft could be protected from overheating with 3D printed catalysts that could also be applied a range thermal management scenarios.

Developed by researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, the catalysts are claimed to be cost-effective to make and simple to scale.

The team’s lab demonstrations show the catalysts could potentially be used to power hypersonic flight while simultaneously cooling the system. The research is published in Chemical Communications.

Lead researcher Dr Selvakannan Periasamy said the work tackled one of the biggest challenges in the development of hypersonic aircraft, namely controlling the heat that builds up when planes fly at over five times the speed of sound.

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“Our lab tests show the 3D printed catalysts we’ve developed have great promise for fuelling the future of hypersonic flight,” Periasamy said in a statement. “Powerful and efficient, they offer an exciting potential solution for thermal management in aviation - and beyond. With further development, we hope this new generation of ultra-efficient 3D printed catalysts could be used to transform any industrial process where overheating is an ever-present challenge.”

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