Cart3D Analysis of Plume and Shock Interaction Effects on Sonic Boom

A plume and shock interaction study was developed to collect data and perform CFD on a configuration where a nozzle plume passed through the shock generated from the wing or tail of a supersonic vehicle. The wing or tail was simulated with a wedge-shaped shock generator. Three configurations were analyzed consisting of two strut mounted wedges and one propulsion pod with an aft deck from a low boom vehicle concept. Research efforts at NASA were intended to enable future supersonic flight over land in the United States. Two of these efforts provided data for regulatory change and enabled design of low boom aircraft. Research has determined that sonic boom is a function of aircraft lift and volume distribution. Through careful tailoring of these variables, the sonic boom of concept vehicles has been reduced. One aspect of vehicle tailoring involved how the aircraft engine exhaust interacted with aft surfaces on a supersonic aircraft, such as the tail and wing trailing edges. In this work, results from Euler CFD simulations are compared to experimental data collected on sub-scale components in a wind tunnel. Three configurations are studied to simulate the nozzle plume interaction with representative wing and tail surfaces. Results demonstrate how the plume and tail shock structure moves with increasing nozzle pressure ratio. The CFD captures the main features of the plume and shock interaction. Differences are observed in the plume and deck shock structure that warrant further research and investigation.