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CCAS (Collaborative Center for Aeronautical Sciences) Grant Opportunity FAQs

What is the Collaborative Center for Aeronautical Sciences (CCAS) opportunity?

CCAS is a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) funding opportunity to establish a coordinated research center focused on developing and integrating advanced computational tools for future Air Force aerospace systems, with early emphasis on reliable, high-fidelity multidisciplinary simulation and analysis.

What problem or mission need is this program trying to address?

The core need is AFRL/RQAC's requirement to support a broad set of computational demands, starting with improving the reliability and confidence of high-fidelity, multidisciplinary modeling and simulation. A major practical focus is advancing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and related modeling so complex aeronautical flows can be predicted across more regimes and connected more tightly to experiments and vehicle design challenges.

What are the main research areas (thrusts) in the technical scope?

The opportunity is organized around three major thrusts: (1) High Speed Aero Physics, (2) Fine Scale Unsteadiness, and (3) Enabling CFD Technologies.

What is included under the High Speed Aero Physics thrust?

This thrust targets high-speed and hypersonic flight physics and modeling challenges, including thermal and chemical nonequilibrium, bridging rarefied-to-continuum flow behavior, and potential magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects. It also includes configuration-level hypersonic aerodynamics and interaction problems such as shock-shock and shock-boundary-layer interactions that can drive extreme heating and loads.

Does High Speed Aero Physics include scramjet-related work?

Yes. The scope extends to scramjet-relevant analysis such as flowpath simulations and supersonic combustion, along with steady and unsteady heat transfer topics.

What heat transfer topics are relevant to the High Speed Aero Physics thrust?

Topics called out include steady and unsteady heat transfer, conjugate heat transfer (coupling the fluid and solid thermal response), thermal loads, and flow control concepts in high-speed environments.

Why is High Speed Aero Physics emphasized for predictive accuracy?

The thrust targets physics that often limit predictive accuracy in high-speed vehicle design, where small modeling errors can lead to large errors in predicted heating, drag, and structural risk.

What is included under the Fine Scale Unsteadiness thrust?

This thrust centers on unsteady flow features governing transition, turbulence, separation, and noise, which can strongly influence performance and stability. It includes boundary layers and transition prediction, turbulence excitation or suppression strategies, turbulence model development or improvement, and higher-fidelity approaches such as Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) where appropriate.

Does Fine Scale Unsteadiness include separated flows and flow control?

Yes. It includes separated flows and flow control using plasma, fluidic, or mechanical actuation.

Are aeroacoustics or wave propagation topics included?

Yes. The Fine Scale Unsteadiness thrust mentions propagation of acoustic and electromagnetic waves as they relate to unsteady aerodynamics and aeroacoustics.

What flow features are of interest under Fine Scale Unsteadiness?

In addition to transition and turbulence, areas of interest include secondary flows, shear layers, wakes, and unsteady structures that must be resolved or modeled at relevant scales for prediction, control, and system integration.

What is included under the Enabling CFD Technologies thrust?

This thrust covers computational and software advances needed to make high-fidelity physics practical and trustworthy for multidisciplinary analysis. It includes nonlinear fluid-structure interaction and coupling methods (including strongly coupled approaches), grid motion and adaptation, generalized overset grid techniques for complex moving geometries, and development of high-order and robust numerical algorithms.

Does Enabling CFD Technologies include uncertainty quantification and sensitivity methods?

Yes. It includes uncertainty quantification methods to bound prediction risk, and sensitivity methods tied to grids and geometry for design and optimization.

How does the opportunity address verification, validation, and experimental comparison?

The Enabling CFD Technologies thrust explicitly includes error assessment, software verification and validation (V&V), and computational model validation against experiments, emphasizing defensible and repeatable simulations rather than one-off methods.

Is there an emphasis on interoperable or framework-based computing?

Yes. The scope highlights interoperable and framework-based computing, indicating interest in tools that can be integrated, shared, and sustained rather than isolated codes.

What type of funding instrument is used for this opportunity?

The opportunity uses a Cooperative Agreement.

What does it mean that the award is a Cooperative Agreement?

Based on the opportunity description, a Cooperative Agreement typically implies meaningful government involvement during execution and an emphasis on collaboration and transition.

What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this program?

The Funding Opportunity Number is BAA RQPKC 13 04.

What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?

This program falls under CFDA 12.800 (Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program).

How many awards were anticipated?

The announcement anticipated a single award.

What was the estimated total funding amount?

The estimated total funding level was $2,500,000.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No cost sharing or matching requirement was stated in the information provided.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was listed as unrestricted, meaning it was open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility language in the full announcement.

What were the key dates for this opportunity?

Posted date: January 9, 2013. Closing date: February 25, 2013. Archive date: March 27, 2013.

Who is the technical point of contact for technical discussions?

The technical point of contact is Charles Tyler, AFRL/RQVC, Program Engineer. Phone: (937) 904-4045. Email: charles.tyler@wpafb.af.mil.

Who is the contracting point of contact for announcement access issues?

The contracting point of contact for access issues related to the full announcement is Noreen Bennett, Contracting Officer. Phone: (937) 656-9671.

What kinds of outcomes is AFRL seeking from the CCAS center?

Based on the stated need and scope, AFRL is seeking advances that improve the state of the art in CFD and related modeling, expand predictive confidence across flow regimes (including challenging hypersonic conditions and unsteady/turbulent phenomena), and strengthen ties between computation, experiments, and real vehicle design problems, supported by V&V, validation, and interoperable software approaches.