Nonaxisymmetrical Fuselage Shape Modification for Drag Reduction of Low-Sonic-Boom Airplane

The effects of nonaxisymmetrical fuselage design for reducing the drag of a low-sonic-boom airplane are investigated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses and verified in wind-tunnel tests. The nonaxisymmetrical fuselage design, in which the upper side of a fuselage is designed for low drag whereas the lower side is designed for low sonic boom, is applied to the design of a Mach 1.7 scaled supersonic experimental airplane. The designed airplane is compared with a low-drag airplane and a low-sonic-boom airplane with an axisymmetrical fuselage. The CFD analyses show the nonaxisymmetrical fuselage design can significantly reduce the drag of a low-sonic-boom airplane with an axisymmetrical fuselage without losing its low-sonic-boom characteristics. The CFD results are verified by force and near-field pressure measurements in supersonic wind-tunnel tests. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]