A robust and computationally efficient transition prediction methodology for hypersonic boundary layers is being developed, verified and validated at the University of Kentucky. This framework includes the Adaptive Mesh Refinement Wave-Packet Tracking (AMR-WPT) technique which is used for tracking linear and nonlinear instabilities in hypersonic boundary layers and, subsequently, for predicting the transition to turbulence. As opposed to classical fixed mesh approaches, an AMR method is employed for greater computational efficiency. The presentation will show the research that has been conducted using the Blue Waters HPC allocation. It has allowed for the AMR-WPT approach to be validated for tracking strongly nonlinear wavepackets in hypersonic boundary layers. Results from far more computationally costly Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) were used for validating the AMR-WPT method. Furthermore, by utilizing the Blue Waters HPC allocation, we have been able to optimize the tracking procedure and the algorithms which govern the AMR-WPT method.
