NWTF Free Access Supports Early Career Research in Hypersonic Study

The National Wind Tunnel Facility (NWTF) continues to support early career researchers through its Free Access Programme, which enables academic researchers to use NWTF facilities at no cost. This initiative is designed to reduce bureaucracy and accelerate testing, allowing researchers to carry out experiments that may not be feasible at their home institutions.

A recent example is Kazuki Ozawa, a PhD researcher at Imperial College London, supervised by Dr Paul Bruce, who conducted hypersonic flow testing at the High-Supersonic Tunnel (HSST) at the University of Manchester. With the support of Professor Shan Zhong (who was not directly involved In this project), Dr Mark Quinn, and the Manchester team, Kazuki was able to validate a novel concept for controlling boundary layers for sustainable hypersonic flight.

Kazuki’s research focuses on spanwise variation of wall temperature as a method to control the boundary layer—an approach that could reduce drag, improve flight efficiency, and mitigate surface heating. This technique offers a promising alternative to traditional roughness-based methods, which often face limitations in high-speed regimes. The HSST wind tunnel at Manchester provided the ideal environment for this work, generating hypersonic flow for several seconds, which is critical for testing and validation. Kazuki’s experience highlights the value of travelling to NWTF partner facilities to access unique capabilities and expert support.

The NWTF Free Access Programme is open to academic researchers across the UK, and the network encourages early career researchers to apply and take advantage of this opportunity.

Find out more about the NWTF Free Access Programme.