August Seminar #2 // Ablation Science and Technology: Processing, Characterization, and Modeling

PROFESSOR JOSEPH H. KOO

Ablation Science and Technology: Processing, Characterization, and Modeling

The Koo Research Group (KRG) at UT Austin has been specializing in “Ablation research” for the past twelve years. Recently, the group has developed some very unique capabilities that could advance “Ablation research” using both experimental and numerical approach. The purpose of today’s seminar at RMIT University to introduce to our RMIT colleagues the methodology KRG has developed to solve this challenging problem. Past and current sponsors relating to our “Ablation research” include DoD (AFOSR, AFRL, AMDEC, DTRA, MDA, NAVAIR, NAVSEA, & ONR), DoE, NASA, and private companies. Today’s seminar includes the following topics:

• Nanostructured ablative material processing, characterization, and performance
• Oxy-acetylene test bed (OTB) and Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) with advanced diagnostics for ablative test & evaluation
• In situ ablation recession and thermal sensing technology
• Sensors to characterize nanostructured ablative char strength
• Thermophysical properties characterization of ablative
• Material response, heat transfer, and CFD modeling using industry-standard computer codes

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr. Koo has over 40 years of industrial and academic experience in program and engineering management. Currently, he is Sr. Research Scientist/Research Professor/Director of Polymer Nanocomposites Technology Lab in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX. Dr. Koo is the founder of KAI, LLC and currently serves as Vice President and CTO. He is a SAMPE Fellow and Chairman of the SAMPE Nanotechnology Committee. Dr. Koo is an Associate Fellow of AIAA and Past-Chair of the AIAA Materials Technical Committee. He has an excellent track record for developing well-funded research programs sponsored by DOD (AFOSR, AFRL, AMRDEC, DTRA, MDA, NAVAIR, NAVSEA, NSWC, and ONR), DOE, DOT, EPA, FAA, NASA, and private companies. His research group specializes in “Polymer Nanocomposites Technology Designed for Extreme Environments” for four major research areas:

• Ablation Research
• Additive Manufacturing Polymers
• Flame Retardant Polymers
• Conductive Polymers and Composites

Dr. Koo’s publications include two books, Polymer Nanocomposites: Processing, Characterization, and Applications, McGraw-Hill, New York (2006), and Fundamentals, Properties, and Applications of Polymer Nanocomposites, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (2016), and over 550 papers/presentations in materials, thermal, and optical science disciplines. Two new books are forthcoming: Ablation Science and Technology: Processing, Characterization, and Applications, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (2019) and Polymer Nanocomposites: Processing, Characterization and Applications, 2nd Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York (2018).