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Dr David Gildfind

Senior Lecturer

School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
d.gildfind@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 53593

Overview

David Gildfind’s research is primarily concerned with experimental hypersonics. His research interests include: expansion tube facility development; scramjet propulsion; planetary entry aerothermodynamics; and magnetohydrodynamic aerobraking.

David graduated as an aerospace engineer from RMIT University in 2001. He worked in industry on various aircraft platforms in Australia and overseas (GKN in Melbourne 2002-2003 on A340/A380; Australian Aerospace in Brisbane 2003-2005 on DHC4 Caribou; and Stork Fokker in The Netherlands 2005-2007 on F35-JSF and Gulfstream G6), and retains a strong interest in aircraft structures. He later completed his PhD and post-doctoral work in hypersonics at the University of Queensland (UQ), where he developed the capability for expansion tubes wind tunnels to simulate reallistic scramjet flight trajectories beyond Mach 10. His research in this area includes optimising free-piston driver operation, expansion tube flow condition development, and test flow characterisation.

David became a lecturer at UQ's School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering in 2014, and teaches into aircraft structures, design, and hypersonics. During this time David has initiated a new research program on Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) aerobraking, which was awarded an ARC DECRA fellowship (2017-2020) to experimentally evaluate MHD aerobraking technology for a human mission to Mars. This work is now continuing in 2022 with the recently awarded three year ARC Discovery Project "Magnetohydrodynamic Aerobraking for Spacecraft Entry to Earth's Atmosphere" which David is leading. This will focus on the development of new MHD aerobraking technology to reduce spacecraft heating, leading to safer, more efficient, and potentially reusable spacecraft

Research Interests

  • Expansion tube facility development
  • Shock tunnel facility development
  • Magnetohydrodynamic aerobraking
  • Planetary entry aerothermodynamics
  • Scramjet propulsion

Research Impacts

Expansion tube facility development: expansion tubes are the only hypersonic wind tunnels capable of simulating the final stages of flight for a scramjet powered access-to-space launch vehicle, or of simulating true-flight-velocity aerodynamic flows for Earth return from deep space. Such experiments in a conventional wind tunnel become extraordinarilly difficult for scramjet flight beyond Mach 10 and spacecraft atmospheric entry faster than 7 km/s. Our research into expansion tubes is important because it significantly widens the range of reallistic aerodynamic ground testing which we can perform, paving the way for experimental evaluation of the spacecraft technologies of the future.

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) aerobraking: The purpose of MHD aerobraking is to mitigate the immense heat loads during spacecrafct atmospheric entry and to facilitate landing on planets with low density atmospheres. Our team at UQ have conducted the first ground test experiments which have simulated this technology at flight-realistic hypervelocity speeds and with the correct electrodynamic boundary conditions around the body. We have been able to conduct magnetic drag measurements and measure the effect of the magnetic field on the shock layer which forms around the vehicle, and are now investigating how this technology can be harnessed in future spacecraft.

Qualifications

  • Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philisophy, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor of Business (Administration), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
  • Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

Publications

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Grants

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Supervision

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Available Projects

  • Magnetohydrodynamic Aerobraking for Spacecraft Entry to Earth's Atmosphere

    UQ's Centre for Hypersonics was recently awarded an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant to study Magnetohydrodynamic Aerobraking for spacecraft atmospheric entry to Earth. A spaceship returning from Mars will undergo unprecedented aerodynamic heating as it enters Earth's atmosphere. Magnetohydroynamic (MHD) aerobraking involves applying a strong magnetic field to the plasma which forms around the spacecraft at these speeds, theoretically protecting it by reducing structural heat loads and enabling less severe flight trajectories. Our research aims to experimentally study this technology for Earth return from deep space, and it is significant because it will evaluate a new mechanism for managing the tremendous heat loads of planetary entry. The expected outcome and benefit will be development of a new technology to reduce spacecraft heating, leading to safer, more efficient, and potentially reusable spacecraft.

    There are four PhD topics planned as part of this Discovery Project:

    1. MHD drag measurement (experimental)
    2. MHD surface heat flux and shock layer characterisation (experimental)
    3. Zeeman effect on radiating hypersonic flows (experimental/numerical)
    4. CFD modelling of MHD flows (numerical)

    This project is an international collaboration between Australia and Japan to advance MHD aerobraking technology. The experiments will be performed on UQ's X2 and X3 free-piston driven expansion tubes, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's HEK-X facility at Kakuda. This is a great opportunity for the successful student to develop expertise in: spacecraft ground testing using the world's fastest aerodynamic test facilities; state-of-the-art diagnostic and numerical techniques; and to play a role in developing a potentially ground-breaking future spacecraft heat mitigation technology.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • Expansion tubes in Australia

    Gildfind, David, Morgan, Richard G. and Jacobs, Peter A. (2016). Expansion tubes in Australia. Experimental methods of shock wave research. (pp. 399-431) edited by Ozer Igra and Friech Seiler. Basel, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-23745-9_13

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Magnetohydrodynamic flow control for atmospheric entry

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Optimised use of Magnetohydrodynamic Aerobraking for Planetary Atmospheric Entry

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Development of X2 Driver conditions producing low density hypersonic test flows

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Experimental Investigation of Turbulence Chemistry Interaction in High Enthalpy Flows

    Master Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Magnetohydrodynamic Aerobraking for Spacecraft Entry to Earth's Atmosphere

    UQ's Centre for Hypersonics was recently awarded an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant to study Magnetohydrodynamic Aerobraking for spacecraft atmospheric entry to Earth. A spaceship returning from Mars will undergo unprecedented aerodynamic heating as it enters Earth's atmosphere. Magnetohydroynamic (MHD) aerobraking involves applying a strong magnetic field to the plasma which forms around the spacecraft at these speeds, theoretically protecting it by reducing structural heat loads and enabling less severe flight trajectories. Our research aims to experimentally study this technology for Earth return from deep space, and it is significant because it will evaluate a new mechanism for managing the tremendous heat loads of planetary entry. The expected outcome and benefit will be development of a new technology to reduce spacecraft heating, leading to safer, more efficient, and potentially reusable spacecraft.

    There are four PhD topics planned as part of this Discovery Project:

    1. MHD drag measurement (experimental)
    2. MHD surface heat flux and shock layer characterisation (experimental)
    3. Zeeman effect on radiating hypersonic flows (experimental/numerical)
    4. CFD modelling of MHD flows (numerical)

    This project is an international collaboration between Australia and Japan to advance MHD aerobraking technology. The experiments will be performed on UQ's X2 and X3 free-piston driven expansion tubes, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's HEK-X facility at Kakuda. This is a great opportunity for the successful student to develop expertise in: spacecraft ground testing using the world's fastest aerodynamic test facilities; state-of-the-art diagnostic and numerical techniques; and to play a role in developing a potentially ground-breaking future spacecraft heat mitigation technology.

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

Wind tunnel testing, Hypersonics, Aerospace Engineering, Expansion tubes, Reflected Shock Tunnels, Experimentation

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

Links

ORCID: 0000-0003-1678-2660

Scopus ID: 51863467400

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