Variational quantum algorithms are particularly promising early applications of quantum computers since they are comparatively noise tolerant and aim to achieve a quantum advantage with only a few hundred qubits. They are applicable to a wide range of optimization problems arising throughout the natural sciences and industry. To demonstrate the possibilities for the aeroscience community, we describe how variational quantum algorithms can be utilized in computational fluid dynamics.

Bryan Kelchner, VP of Engineering at Teknicare, Inc., a company that specializes in directed-energy (DE) systems engineering, design, development, integration, and testing of beam control and laser systems for DoD; Victor Beazel, Senior Dynamics and Controls Engineer at Teknicare; and Steven Griffin, Boeing Senior Technical Fellow will talk about challenges of airborne and space-based high-energy laser systems’ line-of-sight control.

Large transient excursions in angle of attack promote unsteady separation and dynamic stall over a wing, allowing it to briefly exceed static-stall conditions but also inducing potentially undesirable variations in aerodynamic loading or structural response. This phenomenon is prevalent in a number of engineering applications, including helicopter rotors, maneuvering aircraft, wind turbines, and wing–gust/wing-wake encounters. Thus, its prediction and control are of great interest. Our group at AFRL has performed a large computational campaign over recent years coving a broad range of flow conditions, planforms, and kinematics to uncover the viscous mechanisms preceding stall onset. In these studies, we have documented the dominant role of a small-scale laminar separation bubble (LSB) on the initiation of dynamic stall, which guided the development of a novel low amplitude, high-frequency control strategy to exploit the LSB dynamics for transient stall suppression. Although originally designed for nominally 2D wing sections, the control technique was successfully extended to finite wings because by exploiting the mostly spanwise-uniform LSB prior to stall. Swept wings exhibit a similar LSB stall precursor state, yet their eventual stall behavior (transient tip stall) is drastically different than the dynamic center-wing stall of its straight wing counterpart. Despite this, the targeted, high-frequency control is also remarkably successful at also suppressing tip stall, demonstrating the dominant and somewhat universal nature of the LSB across relevant configurations and its potential for manipulation. The presentation will provide an overview of the swept-wing separation control, while also highlighting a promising passive control strategy through micro-cavity actuation.

A detonation is an explosion driven by energy released behind a leading shock wave traveling through a background of energetic material. It is the strongest form of combustion wave, travels orders of magnitude faster than a flame, and once it is started, it is difficult to impossible to contain until all of the fuel is consumed.