Summary and progress made in modeling of sonic boom propagation during AIAA sonic boom prediction workshops

Abstract

This paper summarizes the atmospheric propagation modeling portion of the Second American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Sonic Boom Prediction Workshop held in 2017 as well as an informal propagation comparison and benchmarking effort conducted prior to the First AIAA Sonic Boom Prediction Workshop in 2014. The motivation behind these workshops is the industry's increased interest in low boom supersonic aircraft designs and the need to have an open, unbiased forum to promote best practices. The propagation test cases from both exercises are described and discussed. Discussion is also included on the selection of test case conditions with multiple atmospheric profiles, representing geographical and seasonal variations of the relevant meteorological data. Propagated sonic boom ground signatures, loudness metrics, extent of the boom carpets and other propagation-related details were gathered from a group of international participants. Comparisons are made between submissions, and the differences are analyzed in detail to understand the state-of-the-art in sonic boom atmospheric propagation modeling. The progress made between the workshops and the lessons learned will be discussed.