Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
AIAA Scitech Forum
Location
Orlando, FL
Publication Date
1-5-2020
First Page
1
Last Page
15
Abstract
This work explores the design space created from modeling the effect of localized geometric changes on a supersonic aircraft’s near-field pressure signature. These geometric changes are used to alter the aircraft’s near-field pressure signature in a way that reduces its sonic boom loudness at the ground. The aircraft used in this work is the NASA 25D concept and its near-field pressure signature is modeled using two separate methods. The first method uses the PANAIR panel code to obtain a near-field pressure signature for an axisymmetric representation of the 25D. This near-field signature is propagated to the ground using the NASA sBOOM propagation code and the perceived level in decibels is calculated using an in-house loudness code called PyLdB. The second method uses the equivalent area distribution of the 25D which is passed directly to sBOOM and the perceived level is again found using PyLdB. To model the geometric changes, the axisymmetric geometry and the equivalent area distributions are independently modified with a parameterized Gaussian deformation. These methods are fast enough to quickly explore the design space and find the change in loudness for different deformation parameters. This design space exploration is used to study loudness changes for both on-design conditions and the effects of deviations from on-design angle of attack, Mach number, and azimuth angle. A genetic algorithm is used in subsequent studies to explore the effects of different atmospheric conditions. These results can be used to inform higher fidelity CFD studies and structural adaptation design on the aircraft.
Recommended Citation
Abraham, T. A., Hunsaker, D. F., Weaver-Rosen, J. M., and Malak, R. J., “Identifying Optimal Equivalent Area Changes to Reduce Sonic Boom Loudness,” AIAA Scitech Forum, Orlando, Florida, January 2020, AIAA-2020-0790, DOI: 10.2514/6.2020-0790