Inlet Trade Study for a Low-Boom Aircraft DemonstratorPropulsion integration for low-boom supersonic aircraft requires careful inlet selection, placement, and tailoring to achieve acceptable propulsive and aerodynamic performance, without compromising vehicle sonic boom loudness levels. In this investigation, an inward-turning streamline-traced and axisymmetric spike inlet are designed and independently installed on a conceptual low-boom supersonic demonstrator aircraft. The airframe was pre-shaped to achieve a target ground under-track loudness of 76.4 PLdB at cruise using an adjoint-based design optimization process. Aircraft and inlet performance characteristics were obtained by solution of the steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Isolated cruise inlet performance including total pressure recovery and distortion were computed and compared against installed inlet performance metrics. Evaluation of vehicle near-field pressure signatures, along with under- and off-track propagated loudness levels is also reported. Results indicate the integrated axisymmetric spike design offers higher inlet pressure recovery, lower fan distortion, and reduced sonic boom. The vehicle with streamline-traced inlet exhibits lower external wave drag, which translates to a higher lift-to-drag ratio and increased range capability.
Document ID
20170002621
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Presentation
Authors
Heath, Christopher M. (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH United States)
Slater, John W. (NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH United States)
Rallabhandi, Sriram K. (National Inst. of Aerospace Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
March 29, 2017
Publication Date
June 13, 2016
Subject Category
Aircraft Design, Testing And PerformanceAcoustics
Report/Patent Number
GRC-E-DAA-TN33021
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2016 AIAA Aviation Forum and Exposition
Location: Washington, DC
Country: United States
Start Date: June 13, 2017
End Date: June 17, 2017
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics