Parametric study of supersonic aircraft shape for reduced boom

For future supersonic commercial aircraft it is important to know the strength of their sonic booms and to search for ways to reduce levels. This paper discusses: (1) the method of sonic boom calculation, (2) the effect of aircraft parameters on sonic boom magnitude, and (3) the design of an aircraft shape to reduce sonic boom. The pressure field near an aircraft is calculated using a finite-difference marching procedure in conjunction with a linear-theory panel method. With use of Zhilin’s integral, the near field is transformed to a Whitham F-function, which is the initial data for the wave propagation. The problem of wave propagation in the nonuniform stratified atmosphere is solved by a system of nonlinear equations to obtain the sonic boom signature at the ground. A global parametric study was conducted to include the influence of approximately 16 aircraft parameters, such as dihedral and sweep angle, wing location, canard, etc. Also, for a given wing and fuselage volume distribution, the sonic boom level was minimized by adjusting the wing mean camber surface. This solution was obtained by the inverse aerodynamic method based on linear (panel method) and nonlinear (Euler equation) algorithms.