University of Alabama in Huntsville Propulsion Research Center

The Propulsion Research Center, or PRC, is a research center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Alabama. It does research on advanced propulsion technologies, produces publications and mentors students.

The university set up the center on February 1, 1991. It started with three faculty members and five student researchers. It now has thirty-two faculty members, researchers and staff, and more than fifty graduate and undergraduate researchers.

The center links the academic research community with the propulsion community. Its laboratories assess liquid, solid, electric and air-breathing propulsion devices in detail. This includes work with cryogenic propellants.

Its capabilities cover eight areas. They are aerospace materials and structures, computational modeling, energy and power systems, fusion propulsion and power, plasmas and combustion, propellants and energetics, propulsion systems integration, and a propulsion system technology test-bed. The materials group works on additive manufacturing, 3D X-ray imaging of energy materials and new propellants, and how materials behave in extreme conditions. It uses experimental and computer methods, including mechanics, thermal and transport science, materials characterization and multiphysics modeling.

The center has a broad range of customers. They include NASA, the Department of War, the Department of Energy and the Missile Defense Agency. Industry customers range from large to small firms, such as Aerojet Rocketdyne, HyperV Technologies Corporation and C3 Propulsion. The PRC also has a strong presence at the AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference each year.

The PRC can help with basic research grants, contracts and SBIR and STTR projects. It can also work in an ITAR or proprietary setting when asked. Students can join the PRC Student Association or Charger Rocket Works. The center marked its 30th anniversary in 2021 with an AIAA paper.

Services

• Propulsion research
• Aerospace materials and structures
• Computational modeling
• Energy and power systems
• Fusion propulsion and power
• Plasmas and combustion
• Propellants and energetics
• Propulsion systems integration
• Propulsion test-bed
• Student mentoring