Supersonic Aircraft Research Articles

Effect of thermomechanical processing on mechanical properties and the microstructure of binary Al-Ce alloy

A new generation of Al alloys based on the Al-Ce system, with microstructure and properties weakly sensitive to elevated temperatures, is being developed for applications such as thermal engine blocks and supersonic aircraft fuselage components. Cast Al-Ce binary alloys with 4, 10 and 16 wt% Ce were produced by slab casting and further processed by extrusion. Extrusion produces a highly refined microstructure resulting in a twofold increase in strength (tensile strength of 228 MPa at room temperature). We show that the Al-10Ce is highly stable (more than 99 % strength retention after 300 °C 100 h exposure), far superior to high temperature grade Al alloy AA2618. The extruded Al-10Ce also shows a room temperature ductility of more than 20 %, with a fracture toughness of 55.42 kJ/m2 that does not degrade after high temperature exposure (97.6 % toughness retention after 300 °C 100h exposure). Results from testing at different temperatures are also reported.

Research on optimization of the synthesis endo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene from dicyclopentadiene

Endo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (endo-THDCPD) serves as a crucial precursor in the synthesis of exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (exo-THDCPD), the primary component of JP-10 , a single-component hydrocarbon fuel utilized for high-performance cruise missiles, rockets, and supersonic aircraft propulsion. Endo-THDCPD was synthesized through the hydrogenation reaction of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) using a Pd/C catalyst. In this study, optimal conditions for the hydrogenation process have been thoroughly investigated. Specifically, the reaction is carried out in n-hexane solvent at a reaction temperature of 90 °C, a total H2 pressure of 0.5 MPa, a reaction time of 4 hours, and a catalyst/DCPD mass ratio of 10%.

Sensitivity analysis of landing and takeoff noise for conceptual low-boom supersonic aircraft using variable noise reduction system

This paper presents the results of an analysis of the sensitivity of the use of a variable noise reduction system (VNRS), considered in the new landing and takeoff (LTO) noise standard for supersonic aircraft, using a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)-designed 66-ton twin-engine conceptual low-boom supersonic airliner as an example. The analysis was conducted using a tool developed by JAXA and examined the sensitivity of low-speed aerodynamic performance, the sensitivity of takeoff reference speed, the sensitivity of thrust control and flap control duration time ranges, and the sensitivity of noise level to takeoff profile uncertainty. The analyses showed that improving low-speed aerodynamic performance and increasing the takeoff reference speed significantly impact noise levels and the use of VNRS could reduce noise by 2.1 EPNLdB while maintaining the performance of the aircraft. Because the effective noise reduction method by changing the takeoff procedure considered differs for each noise measurement point, it is important to design a takeoff procedure that incorporates an appropriate VNRS. Uncertainty of the takeoff profile was also investigated using Monte Carlo simulations, and it was shown that noise reduction by VNRS is effective even with the assumed uncertainty in the takeoff profile.

Use of semi-empirical models to predict jet noise radiated by unsuppressed and suppressed nozzles

ONERA is involved in two R&T projects related to supersonic aircraft : a self-funded project called PINSON in which a 10-passengers supersonic concept-plane is developed with an aim of reducing consumption, sonic boom and take-off noise, and EU-Project SENECA aiming at providing insights on i) achievable noise levels during takeoff and landing and ii) global climate impact of supersonic aircraft. In both project, the semi-empirical models developed by Stone et al. have been identified as valuable tools for predicting jet noise, which is assumed to be the main contributor to supersonic aircraft noise at take-off. With an aim of extending the work initiated by Jaron et al. in the SENECA framework, ONERA applied Stone et al.'s models to various jet configurations to better understand their domain of validity. Ultimately, the objective is to use those models during engine pre-sizing phase of PINSON project in which a low-noise nozzle equiped with chevrons will be optimized from a multidisciplinary point of view. The objectives of the paper are i) to present the results obtained by applying those models on the EXEJET configurations and ii) to discuss the ability of the latest version of the model to predict chevrons acoustic impact.

Optical signal characteristics analysis of atmospheric disturbance density fields generated by high-speed aircraft

Aircraft disturbs the adjacent atmospheric environment in flight, forming spatial distribution features of atmospheric density that differ from the natural background, which may potentially be utilized as tracer characteristics to introduce new technologies for indirectly sensing the presence of aircraft. In this paper, the concept of a long-range aircraft detection based on the atmospheric disturbance density field is proposed, and the detection mode of tomographic imaging of the scattering light of an atmospheric disturbance flow field is designed. By modeling the spatial distribution of the disturbance density field, the scattered echo signal images of active light towards the disturbance field at long distance are simulated. On this basis, the characteristics of the disturbance optical signal at the optimal detection resolution are analyzed. The results show that the atmospheric disturbance flow field of the supersonic aircraft presents circular in the light-scattering echo images. The disturbance signal can be further highlighted by differential processing of the adjacent scattering images. As the distance behind the aircraft increases, the diffusion range of the disturbance signal increases, and the signal intensity and contrast with the background decrease. Under the ground-based observation conditions of the aircraft at a height of 10000 m, a Mach number of 1.6, and a detection distance of 100 km, the contrast between the disturbance signal and the background was 30 dB at a distance of one time from the rear of the fuselage, and the diffusion diameter of the disturbance signal was 50 m. At a distance eight times the length of the aircraft, the contrast decreased to 10 dB, and the diameter increased to 290 m. The contrast was reduced to 3 dB at a distance nine times the length of the aircraft, and the diameter was diffused to 310 m. These results indicate the possibility of long-range aircraft detection based on the characteristics of the atmospheric density field.

Influence of TiC and Ni addition on densification and mechanical properties of microwave sintered ZrB2 based composites

The effects of TiC (10–30 vol%) and Ni (1–2 vol%) incorporation on densification, microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of microwave sintered ZrB2 matrix-based composites were investigated in the present study. The findings reveal that TiC addition significantly improves the densification of ZrB2 based composites, while the inclusion of Ni further improves densification of ZrB2–20 vol% TiC composite by reducing porosity and restricting the grain growth of both ZrB2 and TiC phases. Additionally, the highest Vickers hardness of 22.25 ± 1.33 GPa and compressive strength of 1556.2 ± 40.17 MPa were obtained for the ZrB2–20 vol% TiC composite due to lower porosity, lower grain size and higher TiC diffusion in the ZrB2 matrix. The fracture toughness enhanced with TiC and Ni addition and the maximum fracture toughness was observed as 6.66 ± 0.47 MPa.m0.5 along with the highest critical energy release rate of 95.16 ± 11.68 J/m2 for the ZrB2–20 vol% TiC-2 vol% Ni composite owing to the activation of toughening mechanisms like crack bridging, crack deflection and open pores as crack deflectors. Nanoindentation studies revealed significant improvements in elastic modulus and stiffness with the addition of TiC. The maximum elastic modulus and stiffness were observed as 482.91 ± 36.36 GPa and 237.24 ± 20.28 μN/nm for ZrB2–20 vol% TiC composite. The study highlights the potential of incorporating metallic additives with secondary reinforcements to enhance the mechanical properties and microstructures of ZrB2 matrix, making them potential materials for high-temperature applications such as control surfaces, nose caps and leading edges of supersonic aircrafts.

Robust and Density Tunable Kevlar/Hexagonal Boron Nitride Microribbon Aerogels with Excellent Thermal, Mechanical, and Oil-Absorption Properties.

With rapid advancements in aerospace and supersonic aircraft technology, there is a growing demand for multifunctional thermal protective materials. Aerogels, known for their low density and high porosity, have garnered significant attention in this regard. However, developing a lightweight multifunctional aerogel that combines exceptional thermal and mechanical properties through a straightforward and time-efficient method remains a significant challenge. Herein, a facile and universal approach is developed for the preparation of Kevlar/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) aerogels, in which a spin-assisted method is applied to create robust microribbons and further accelerate solvent displacement. The resulting microribbon scaffold, with its entangled nanofiber-nanosheet morphologies, exhibits sufficient strength to prevent volume shrinkage during drying, thereby allowing precise control over aerogel density. The porous hybrid aerogels, featuring controllable geometric characteristics and tailored densities ranging from 6.9 to 100 mg cm-3, can be successfully fabricated. These aerogels exhibit excellent thermal insulation properties, and the thermal conductivities of the as-prepared KBX aerogels have a wide distribution in the range of 0.0269-0.0450 W m-1 k-1. The thermal stability of the hybrid aerogels is enhanced to 566 °C. Moreover, the resulting hybrid aerogels exhibit an ultrahigh bearing ratio, supporting more than 2000 times their own weight while maintaining stable structural integrity. These aerogels also demonstrate high compressive strength, hydrophobicity, and excellent sorption performance for various oils and solvents. Additionally, the oil-saturated aerogels can be easily recovered through heat treatment or combustion in air. The features endow hybrid Kevlar/h-BN aerogels with significant potential for applications in thermal management, environmental protection, and neutron protection.

Mixed-Flow Turbofan Engine Model for the Conceptual Design of Sustainable Supersonic Airplanes

Current research efforts on commercial supersonic flight aim to overcome past challenges by designing a new generation of sustainable supersonic airplanes. Achieving this goal requires careful consideration of the propulsion system during the design process. This study proposes a mixed-flow turbofan engine model coupled with emission estimation routines to increase the reliability of the conceptual design of future supersonic aircraft. The model enables parametric analyses by analyzing variations in main engine design parameters (πc,πf, BPR) as function of the system and mission requirements, such as the Mach number, and suggesting applicability boundaries. The overall methodology was applied to a low-boom Mach 1.5 case study, allowing for both on-design and off-design analyses and generating a propulsive database to support preliminary mission simulations and chemical emission estimation. Finally, the accuracy and reliability of the engine model was validated against GSP 11 data for a generic mixed-flow turbofan engine. A modified version of the Fuel Flow Method, originally developed by Boeing, allowing for emissions estimation throughout the mission for a supersonic engine using biofuels. The application of the methodology led to the definition of an engine with a πc of 30 and BPR of 0.7 for the selected case study, which was successful in meeting the initial mission requirements.

Pt-Cu/CeO2-Al2O3 with Honeycomb-Like Structure Towards Catalytic Cracking of RP-3 and Anti-Wear Application

ABSTRACT Generally, thermal barrier and wear seriously affect flight safety by deforming or disabling the inner surface of the engine and outer surface of the vehicle of supersonic aircraft. In this study, we developed a bimetallic supported composite catalyst coating which can simultaneously eliminate the “thermal barriers” and improve the wear resistance. The bimetal-loaded composite catalysts (Pt-Cu@CeO2-Al2O3) coating was obtained by co-precipitation method. The catalytic cracking for RP-3 and wear resistance of composite catalyst coatings were evaluated via thermal cracking and friction experiments. The simulated catalytic cracking experiment results show that when n(Ce): n(Al) = 1:1, the composite catalyst exhibits the highest catalytic activity, which results from the largest specific surface area and proportion of strong acid centers. Meanwhile, under lower temperature conditions, the gas production rate of RP-3 catalytic cracking is increased by 915% (550 ℃) and 186% (600 ℃) compared with the thermal cracking. Meanwhile, the low frictional coefficient of 0.533 of the catalyst coating also indicates the satisfied wear resistance. This research provides useful information for the creation of a safer flying environment and the extension of the service life of supersonic aircraft.

Closed-Loop Control of Dynamic Oblique Shock with Arc Plasma

The fluctuations caused by the dynamic shock wave and its interaction with the boundary layer bring formidable challenges for aerodynamic design and stable control of supersonic aircraft. The mechanism of closed-loop control for dynamic oblique shock stabilizing with arc plasma is numerically studied. Two types of dynamic oblique shocks are formed in supersonic airflow by a compression ramp rotation and incoming Mach number variation, respectively. A closed-loop controller is established to connect the arc plasma deposited power with the pressure ratio across the dynamic shock by using the proportional-integral method. It realizes the shock pressure ratio stabilized in the desired target value with a local overshoot appearing at the initial excitation and a more stable flow downstream of the oblique shock during excitation state for both types of dynamic shock control. The effects of arc plasma length and ramp rotating speed on the closed-loop control for the dynamic shocks induced by ramp rotation are further discussed. Results show that the arc plasma with longer length is more favorable to the dynamic oblique shock control with lower energy consumption and total pressure loss. The pressure ratio fluctuation is increased at higher ramp rotation speed, but its standard deviation is still limited to 0.3% of the desired target value during excitation state.

Discrete Adjoint Optimization Method for Low-Boom Aircraft Design Using Equivalent Area Distribution

This paper introduces a low-boom aircraft optimization design method guided by equivalent area distribution, which effectively improves the intuitiveness and refinement of inverse design. A gradient optimization method based on discrete adjoint equations is proposed to achieve the fast solution of the gradient information of target equivalent area distribution relative to design variables and to drive the aerodynamic shape update to the optimal solution. An optimization experiment is carried out based on a self-developed supersonic civil aircraft configuration with engines. The results show that the equivalent area distribution adjoint equation can accurately solve the gradient information. After optimization, the sonic boom level of the aircraft was reduced by 13.2 PLdB, and the drag coefficient was reduced by 60.75 counts. Moreover, the equivalent area distribution adjoint optimization method has outstanding advantages, such as high sensitivity and fast convergence speed, and can take both the low sonic boom and the low drag force of the aircraft into account, providing a powerful tool for the comprehensive optimization design of supersonic civil aircraft by considering sonic boom and aerodynamic force.

Attenuation of boundary-layer instabilities for natural laminar flow design on supersonic highly swept wings

To meet the challenge of drag reduction for next-generation supersonic transport aircraft, increasing attention has been focused on Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) technology. However, the highly swept wings and high-Reynolds-number conditions of such aircraft dramatically amplify Crossflow (CF) instabilities inside boundary layers, making it difficult to maintain a large laminar flow region. To explore novel NLF designs on supersonic wings, this article investigates the mechanisms underlying the attenuation of Tollmien–Schlichting (TS) and CF instabilities by modifying pressure distributions. The evolution of TS and CF instabilities are evaluated under typical pressure distributions with different leading-edge flow acceleration region lengths, pressure coefficient slopes and pressure coefficient deviations. The results show that shortening the leading-edge flow acceleration region and using a flat pressure distribution are favorable for suppressing CF instabilities, and keeping a balance of disturbance growth between positive and negative wave angles is favorable for attenuating TS instabilities. Based on the uncovered mechanisms, a strategy of supersonic NLF design is proposed. Examination of the proposed strategy at a 60° sweep angle and Ma = 2 presents potential to exceed the conventional NLF limit and achieve a transition Reynolds number of 17.6 million, which can provide guidance for NLF design on supersonic highly swept wings.

Integrated Model for Predicting Demand of Supersonic Transports Under Low-Boom Constraint

Commercial supersonic aircraft could return between 2035 and 2040 due to the desire for fast travel and advancements in technology that could reduce the cost of supersonic transport. Nevertheless, several challenges remain to make supersonic travel a reality. This paper presents an integrated model that ties the aircraft preliminary design process, the economics of aircraft development and operations, and passenger preferences to estimate worldwide demand for subsonic overland, Mach cutoff, and low-boom aircraft design concepts. This comprehensive and iterative methodology takes into account the uncertainty of market demand for supersonic travel and the complexities of supersonic network operations. Based on the study of four conceptual supersonic designs, we found that low-boom aircraft could attract 28% more demand worldwide compared to an optimized Mach cutoff design because of the additional time-saving benefits on overland routes. The results of this work offer valuable guidance to aircraft designers by explicitly tying the technical parameters of a design and the potential market demand. In addition, the integrated model developed may streamline the initial design development cycle by quantifying fleet size as part of an integrated modeling process.

Mn-doped 0.67BiFeO3-0.33BaTiO3 ceramic sensor for high-temperature structural health monitoring

Real-time monitoring of structural health status is very important for supersonic aircraft, since the long-term operation in harsh service environments, such as high temperatures, can cause potential damage. Structural health monitoring (SHM) based on lamb wave has been approved to be a critical technique for the reliable operation of supersonic aircraft, but is limited by the operating temperature of conventional piezoelectric sensors, which makes it difficult to meet the high-temperature monitoring requirements. The BiFeO3–BaTiO3 ceramics exhibit excellent piezoelectric properties and high Curie temperature (Tc), making them promising for high-temperature SHM of supersonic aircraft. Here, we fabricated a piezoelectric sensor using 0.67BiFeO3-0.33BaTiO3-0.25%molMnO2 (BF33BTMN-025) ceramic, which exhibits a piezoelectric charge constant (d33) of 135 pC/N at room temperature and a Tc of 448 °C. The BF33BTMN-025 ceramic sensor operates effectively at temperatures up to 200 °C and maintains stable damage monitoring sensitivity as well. Compared with Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 (PZT), BaTiO3 (BTO) and other piezoelectric sensors commonly used in SHM field, the BF33BTMN-025 ceramic sensor has a higher operating temperature and a comparable sensitivity. Our work demonstrates that the BF33BTMN-025 ceramic sensor can be employed as piezoelectric sensor for high-temperature SHM, which has a wide application potential in the field of real-time monitoring of supersonic aircraft.

Evaluation of Sonic Boom Shock Wave Generation with CFD Green Methods

Over the past two decades, there has been a renewed interest in the development of a new generation of supersonic aircraft for civil purposes that could potentially succeed Concorde. However, the noise annoyance is still considered one of the hampering factors to meet public consensus. This paper aims at revealing the potential of numerical simulations to predict sonic boom signature in Near Field at early design stages. In particular, the paper further demonstrates the applicability of the numerical approach proposed by NASA and other partners during the Sonic Boom Prediction Workshops held between 2014 and 2021, to compute the pressure signature of aircraft in the zone close to it. The results highlight the suitability of the approach (1) to capture the impact of aircraft flight condition variations on the sonic boom signature, (2) to enable the characterization of novel aircraft layout, including Mach 5 waverider configuration, (3) to provide near-field shock wave noise predictions that can be used to evaluate shock propagation, on-ground signature analyses, and annoyance assessment.

Fabrication, machining (dry vs. cryogenic) and life cycle analysis of hybrid titanium composite laminates (HTCL)

Titanium-based fiber metal laminates, also known as hybrid titanium composite laminates (HTCL), are new-age potential materials used in the field of supersonic and high-speed passenger aircraft due to their better corrosion resistance, higher stiffness, fatigue and impact resistance at both elevated and room temperature. However, the difficult-to-machine nature mandates using effective but sustainable coolant during machining. Therefore, in the present study, drilling of HTCL is done in a dry and cryogenic LCO2 environment, considering various responses such as thrust force, torque, surface roughness, tool wear, chip analysis, power consumption and specific cutting energy. Further, a life-cycle analysis was carried out to evaluate the impacts of these two cutting conditions. The results indicate that cryogenic cooling improved the hole surface finish (up to 25%) by reducing the torque values significantly by 25–30%. Furthermore, tool life is improved (up to 48.6%), and power consumption is reduced (up to 13.3%). These outcomes make cryogenic with LCO2 more favorable to use over dry conditions for this novel material. Nevertheless, condensing CO2 into liquid form necessitates a higher consumption of energy and natural resources. Furthermore, its direct release into the environment results in environmental impacts (up to 17–20%) compared to dry machining.

Selective Deep Hydrogenation of Acenaphthene to High‐Density Fuel On Supported Ru Catalysts: The Role of Strong Metal‐Support Interaction

AbstractDeveloping high‐performance aviation fuel is highly desired for the rapid development of supersonic aircraft. Herein, selective deep hydrogenation of polycyclic aromatics to a high‐density fuel is developed over a Ru‐based catalyst. The influences of strong Ru‐support interaction on tailoring the reaction pathways of acenaphthene hydrogenation were investigated using different oxide supports (SiO2, CeO2, TiO2). Ru/CeO2 and Ru/TiO2 with strong SMSI possess abundant electron‐deficient Ruδ+ species which exhibit a good ability to promote H2 dissociation and increase the isomerization rate of saturated aromatic compounds. Due to the enhanced adsorption of aromatic molecules, Ru/CeO2 (1.30 μmol min−1 g−1) exhibits superior catalytic activity in comparison to Ru/TiO2 (1.25 μmol min−1 g−1) during acenaphthene hydrosaturation, while Ru/TiO2 exhibits the highest isomerization reaction rate (7.60×10−2 μmol min−1 g−1) because of its excellent hydrogen spillover ability and high content of Ruδ+ species. The best catalytic activity with 96 % selectivity of ccc‐perhydroacenaphthene was achieved on Ru/TiO2, and an isomerization mechanism of perhydroacenaphthene isomers was proposed.

Reducing contaminating noise effects when calculating low-boom loudness levels.

During NASA X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft community response tests, low-boom recordings will contain contaminating noise from instrumentation and ambient acoustical sources. This noise can inflate sonic boom perception metrics by several decibels. This paper discusses the development and comparison of robust lowpass filtering techniques for removing contaminating noise effects from low-boom recordings. The two filters are a time-domain Butterworth-magnitude filter and a frequency-domain Brick Wall filter. Both filters successfully reduce noise contamination in metric calculations for simulated data with real-world contaminating noise and demonstrate comparable performance to a modified ISO 11204 correction. The Brick Wall filter's success indicates that further attempts to match boom spectrum high-frequency roll-off beyond the contaminating noise floor are unnecessary and have marginal improvements on final metric calculations. Additionally, the Butterworth filter removes statistical correlation between ambient and boom levels for a real-world flight campaign, adding evidence that these techniques also work on other boom shapes. Overall, both filters can produce accurate metric calculations with only a few hundred hertz of positive signal-to-noise ratio. This work describes methods for accurate metric calculations in the presence of moderate noise contamination that should benefit X-59 and future low-boom supersonic aircraft testing.

A space marching method for sonic boom near field predictions

The conventional sonic boom propagation prediction method widely adopted in supersonic aircraft design involves a two-step procedure. In the first step, a compressible viscous or inviscid Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis is applied to the aircraft geometry at flight conditions to produce a flow field solution near the aircraft. Then in the second step, a one dimensional nonlinear Burgers’ equation model is used to propagate sonic boom signature traces from the near field solution at flight altitude to the ground along a ray path. For an accurate ground signature prediction the near field signature must be accurately modeled at a sufficient distance from the aircraft flight path in order to minimize errors in the one dimensional propagation model. This is a very challenging task for general purpose CFD tools in a design environment because the cost of maintaining highly accurate off-body solutions increases dramatically as the radial distance is enlarged in the computational domain. It is also particularly difficult to apply these tools for wave propagation because the algorithms are normally lower order and numerically dissipative and dispersive. In this work a space marching procedure based on an optimized higher order finite difference method is developed and applied in conjunction with a CFD solution concentrated in the close vicinity of the aircraft. This new approach is much more efficient, compared to previous methods, in providing highly accurate near field signatures for full carpet ground predictions. Results indicate that near field signatures retain more waveform shape information farther from the aircraft geometry while reducing the CFD cost significantly. The predicted ground signature is also shown to converge in shape as the radial distance of the near field signature grows, which is indicative of a more ideal initial condition being supplied to the one dimensional wave propagation to ground. This feature is very difficult to replicate in a tractable manner with common CFD approaches used in design.

Jet noise of a low bypass turbofan with internal mixing and external plug

Jet noise generated by turbofan engines which are designed for supersonic aircraft operation is expected to remain a challenge for the aerospace industry. For civil supersonic transport, low bypass ratio engines with internal mixing and external plugs are currently seen as promising exhaust architecture to meet aircraft mission and certification requirements. Measurements of the noise from a representative low-bypass ratio long duct mixed flow with external plug exhaust configuration were made, along with corresponding steady-RANS and LES analyses. The measured data showed excess high frequency noise across a wide range of operating conditions as compared to an equivalent single stream jet, or an equivalent uniform jet with internal plug. The absolute levels of the excess noise were relatively insensitive to forward flight, and the excess noise was most dominant when the primary and secondary streams had large velocity and temperature mismatch just upstream of the internal mixer. Preliminary indications from the LES analysis also indicated that significant pressure fluctuations, at the same frequencies which are insensitive to forward flight, develop inside the nozzle as the internal shear layer from the mixer grows and gets accelerated by the external plug. Parametric study test measurements on the fan and core operating conditions were performed, providing support for the hypothesis that the excess noise is generated as the internal shear layer, starting inside the nozzle, gets accelerated by the plug and passes through the weak shock at the nozzle exit where the flow accelerates more and turns over the external plug.