A wide-speed-range aerodynamic configuration by adopting wave-riding-strake wing

Abstract

The wide-speed-range characteristics of aerodynamic configuration are critical to the design of the horizontal take-off and landing aircraft. To address this problem, the work proposes a wide-speed-range aerodynamic configuration by assembling a waverider to the aircraft with arrow-shaped wing. To enhance the aerodynamic performance of this configuration, surrogate optimization method is applied to the airfoil of the arrow-shaped wing. Thus, the optimized airfoil with double “S” cambers on the lower surface, and a small leading-edge radius is obtained. The aerodynamic performance of the whole aircraft in the wide-speed range has been investigated numerically by means of the three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with the SST k-omega turbulence model. At subsonic conditions, the waverider can act as a strake-wing to induce vortex from the leading edge of the upper surface. With the large sweep arrow-wing, the subsonic aerodynamic performance is improved by utilizing the vortex lift. At supersonic conditions, wave-riding characteristics as well as the small leading-edge radius wing can effectively reduce the wave-drag. Overall, the lift-to-drag ratio of this configuration is not less than 5.4 at 4-degree angle of attack within Mach number 0.5–7, indicating that this configuration provides outstanding hypersonic aerodynamic performance as well as fairly acceptable subsonic aerodynamic characteristics.