Natural laminar flow wing for supersonic conditions: Wind tunnel experiments, flight test and stability computations

Vermeersch, Olivier; Yoshida, Kenji; Ueda, Y.; Arnal, D.

doi:10.1016/j.paerosci.2015.07.003

Cited by 18 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In this study, this database method has been used in combination with a boundary-layer code. Such an approach involving boundary-layer computations with the database transition prediction has already provided interesting results for a laminar nacelle [22], and transonic [23] or supersonic laminar wings [24]. The use of database methods directly implemented in a RANS solver has been proposed by Bégou et al [25] and has demonstrated promising results for 2-D configurations.…”

Section: Database Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind-Tunnel and CFD Investigations Focused on Transition and Performance Predictions of Laminar Wings

Hue¹,

Vermeersch²,

Duchemin³

et al. 2018

AIAA Journal

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that focused on transition and drag predictions of laminar airfoils. The extension of such studies to three-dimensional configurations representative of modern civil aircraft is a further step toward the implementation of natural laminarflow technologies. The present work, therefore, focuses on validating the laminar design of a low-swept wing for business jet applications. In 2015, an experimental campaign was carried out in the European Transonic Windtunnel, and included laminar/turbulent transition measurements with temperature-sensitive paint at Mach and Reynolds numbers typical of cruise flight conditions. Subsequently, fluid dynamics computations were performed on this aircraft geometry either with a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes solver using both Tollmien-Schlichting and crossflow transition criteria, or with a boundary-layer code using either database methods for transition location or exact stability analyses. In this paper, experimental and numerical transition predictions are compared for three representative cases corresponding to different angles of attack. The agreement that is achieved is satisfactory, and extended regions of laminar flow are observed on the wing at cruise lift levels. In these conditions, the drag reduction can account for 10-15% of the aircraft drag.

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Section: Database Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind-Tunnel and CFD Investigations Focused on Transition and Performance Predictions of Laminar Wings

Hue¹,

Vermeersch²,

Duchemin³

et al. 2018

AIAA Journal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Besides the sonic boom intensity, the supersonic aircraft are desired to be more efficient in fuel consumption, thus a lower operating cost and emissions. JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) has been conducting experiments [7][8][9] to help develop the low-drag supersonic transport. Aerion Supersonic has been updating its supersonic natural laminar flow wing concept 10 to get a higher cruise aerodynamic efficiency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and operational assessment of a low-boom low-drag supersonic business jet

Sun

Smith

2021

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G:

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There has been a worldwide interest to develop a supersonic business jet (SSBJ) for a minimum range of 4000 nm with low sonic boom intensity and high fuel efficiency. An SSBJ design model is developed in the GENUS aircraft conceptual design environment. With the design model, a low-boom low-drag SSBJ concept is designed and optimized. This article studies the design concept for its operational performances. The sustained supersonic cruise flight is studied to find out the fuel-efficient Mach number and altitude combinations. The combined supersonic and subsonic cruise flight scenarios are studied to evaluate the feasibility of boom-free flight routes. The one-stop supersonic cruise flight scenario is studied to compare the fuel consumption and time advantage over subsonic airliners. The off-design sonic boom intensity is studied to explore the operational space assuming there would be a sonic boom intensity limit in the future. Through the studies, it is revealed that there is a corresponding most fuel-efficient operating altitude for a specific cruise Mach number. To operate the aircraft near the cutoff Mach number leads to both increases in the fuel consumption (6.3%–8.1%) and the mission time (11.7%–13.1%). The business-class supersonic transport (231 g/PAX/km) consumes nearly three times fuel as the economic-class supersonic transport (77 g/PAX/km), which is still far more than the economic-class subsonic transport (20 g/PAX/km). Off-design sonic boom intensity studies reveal different trends against the common understanding: the sonic boom intensity does not necessarily decrease as the altitude increases; the sonic boom intensity does not necessarily decrease as the Mach number decreases.

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“…Separate studies by NASA [2] and JAXA [3] have focused on the boom signature reduction with experimental campaigns on their scaled models. In terms of drag-reduction, natural laminar flow (NLF) technology has shown promising results [4,5,6]. On the other hand, multidisciplinary (MDO) and aerodynamic shape optimization (ASO) techniques offer a powerful and possibly essential approach to design an efficient supersonic aircraft [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multipoint Aerodynamic Shape Optimization for Subsonic and Supersonic Regimes

Mangano

Martins

2019

AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum

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The second-generation of supersonic civil transport has to match ambitious targets in terms of noise reduction and efficiency to become economically and environmentally viable. High-fidelity numerical optimization offers a powerful approach to address the complex trade-offs intrinsic to this novel configuration. Past and current research has proven the potential of supersonic aircraft shape optimization but lacks deeper insight on final layouts. This work partially fills this gap by investigating RANS-based aerodynamic optimization for both supersonic, transonic and subsonic conditions. We perform single and multi-point optimization to minimize the drag over an ideal supersonic aircraft flight envelope and assess the influence of physical and numerical parameters on optimization accuracy and robustness. Leading and trailing edge morphing capabilities are introduced to improve the efficiency at transonic and subsonic flight speed by relaxing the trade-offs on clean shape optimization. Benefits in terms of drag reduction are quantified and benchmarked with fixed-edges results. We observe how the optimized airfoils outperform baseline reference shapes from a minimum of 4% up to 86% for different design cases and flight conditions. The study is then extended to the optimization of a planar, low-aspect-ratio, and low-sweep wing, using the same schematic approach of 2D analysis. We investigate the influence of wing twist alone and twist and shape on cruise performance, obtaining a drag reduction of 6% and 25% respectively as the optimizer copes with both viscosity and compressibility effects over the wing. Preliminary results for 3D multi-point optimization suggest that the proposed strategy enables a fast and effective design of highly-efficient wings, with drag reduction ranging from a minimum of 24% up to 74% for cruise at different speeds and altitudes. The benefits of RANS-based aerodynamic shape optimization to capture non-intuitive design trade-offs and offer deeper physical insight are ultimately discussed and quantified.

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Natural laminar flow wing for supersonic conditions: Wind tunnel experiments, flight test and stability computations

Cited by 18 publications

References 20 publications

Wind-Tunnel and CFD Investigations Focused on Transition and Performance Predictions of Laminar Wings

Wind-Tunnel and CFD Investigations Focused on Transition and Performance Predictions of Laminar Wings

Design and operational assessment of a low-boom low-drag supersonic business jet

Multipoint Aerodynamic Shape Optimization for Subsonic and Supersonic Regimes

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