Kerry Dunfey Hopp

Program Manager

Education

B.E., Mechanical Engineering, Villanova University, May 2001
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Villanova University, December 2005

Experience

Kerry joined MR&D in May of 2000. She has been involved in a number of projects at MR&D involving a variety of analyses, including thermal, structural, thermal-structural, and dynamic. She has also used micromechanics codes for the calculation of fiber, matrix, and composite thermo-elastic properties.

Currently, Kerry is serving as the Principal Investigator on Contract No. USAF-3446-24-SC-001, “Hot Structure Design for Hypersonic Vehicles.” She is leading the effort to investigate the technical challenges associated with the integration of load-carrying thermal protection system designs, as applied to a conceptual “all hot structure” hypersonic vehicle. Kerry is coordinating the transfer of vehicle models and load conditions from an aerospace prime contractor to be used in the analysis efforts at MR&D.

In addition, Kerry is serving as Principal Investigator on several AFRL SBIR Phase II programs. Under Contract FA8650-07-C-5221, “Development of Non-Parasitic Integrated Acreage TPS/Airframe Material,” Kerry is designing a non-parasitic hybrid truss core TPS assembly. She is responsible for thermal, structural, dynamic, and thermo-structural analyses of this concept and generating a design which results in all positive margins of safety. Kerry is coordinating the fabrication of hybrid panels for material property testing and the MDAs of the hybrid truss core as well as the thermal and mechanical testing of these MDAs.

Under Contract FA8651-07-C-0141, “Development of Lower Cost High Temperature Composites for Hypersonic Tactical Missiles,” Kerry is leading the effort to design an alternative all-composite control fin for the X-51A using lower cost composite materials. She is responsible for the design and analysis and well as coordination of the material process development effort, fabrication of test panels and prototype test articles, and testing of the prototypes for concept validation.

The third Phase II AFRL SBIR, Contract FA9300-07-C-1003, is entitled “Development of Novel, High Interlaminar Strength Carbon-Carbon Composites for Advanced Rocket Propulsion Components: Nozzle Materials and Exit Cones.” Kerry is coordinating the effort for the development and fabrication of various interlaminar reinforcement concepts, panel fabrication, and material property testing. In addition, she is leading the analysis and design effort being performed at MR&D to evaluate the benefits of the increased interlaminar properties as well as the acceptable reduction in in-plane properties.

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