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The static program has shown to date that very large noise reductions can be achieved by the sonic inlet concept with realistic inlet length and good aerodynamic performance. It is also shown that different inlet concepts produce substantially different results.
A correlation of sonic boom pressure signatures recorded during reentry of the Apollo 15 command module with wind-tunnel signatures extrapolated to flight distances has been made for Mach numbers of 1.16 and 4.57. The flight pressure signatures were recorded by pressure sensors located onboard ships positioned near the ground track while the wind-tunnel signatures were measured during tests of a 0.016-scale model of the command module. The agreement between estimates based on wind-tunnel data and flight measurements was better at Mach 4.57 than at Mach 1.16.
A wind-tunnel investigation was conducted to determine the effect of wing planform on sonic boom at Mach numbers of 1.7, 2.0, and 2.7. The results of the investigation show that the wing leading-edge sweep is one of the primary planform variables affecting the overpressure characteristics.
A computer method has been developed to calculate the flow field associated with sonic boom focusing. Solutions are obtained for focussing caused by localized cold spots in the atmosphere, as well as for N-waves with concave fronts. Results include focus factors and the length scales of the focal region. Both strong and weak shock waves are studied.
The exact solutions to the equations of gas dynamics are given with respect to the axis of slender lifting bodies in a stratified atmosphere. The boundary condition is satisfied by using slender-body theory. The solution predicts the magnitude of the pressure rise of the sonic boom and estimates the nonlinear effects in the vicinity of the cutoff point.
A correlation of sonic boom pressure signatures recorded during reentry of the Apollo 16 command module with wind-tunnel signatures extrapolated to flight distances was made for Mach numbers of 1.83 and 9.71. The flight pressure signatures were recorded by microphones located onboard ships positioned near the ground track, whereas the wind tunnel signatures were measured during a test of a 0.016-scale model of the command module. The agreement between estimates based on wind tunnel data and flight measurements was good at the tested Mach numbers.
An investigation was conducted to determine the magnitude of the groundtrack overpressure generated by an oblique-wing transport cruising at Mach 1.4 at 45,000 ft. A conventional swept-wing configuration was included in the study to provide a basis of comparison for the oblique-wing configuration. The results of the investigation have shown that the oblique-wing configuration produces less sonic boom overpressure at cruise lift coefficient than the swept-wing vehicle.
A number of optimization problems are posed and solved for supersonic aircraft flight subject to the condition that a shock wave appears only incipiently in the sonic boom signal at a given point. The principal result is one giving the maximum effective gross weight of an aircraft of given effective length under given flight conditions. The calculus of variations with inequality constraints is used, with the novel features of a non-local isoperimetric relation and of only an upper bound on a control variable.
This paper is the second of two companion papers. In the first paper, expressions for the acoustic field generated inside a room with an open window due to incoming transient or periodic signals have been presented. In this paper, the technique has been applied to the specific example of an N-wave type signal. Detailed mathematical analysis is followed by its approximate version and numerical computation. Results of controlled experiments, using simulated sonic booms, have been compared with theoretical predictions.
The induced static pressures due to a highly underexpanded sonic jet ejecting normally from a flat plate into a subsonic crosswind have been investigated. These pressure data have been recorded on the flat plate for a range of nominal jet-to-free-stream dynamic-pressure ratios from 0 to 1000 at free-stream Mach numbers of 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6. The static pressure data measured on the flat plate are presented and correlated based upon the Riemann shock geometry in the jet plume. This data correlation improves with increasing free-stream Mach number.
A static test program was conducted to investigate aerodynamic and acoustic performance of a sonic inlet used as a noise suppressor. A translating centerbody type inlet with radial vanes was tested ahead of a J85-GE-13 turbojet engine. The inlet when fully choked, maintained high recovery with low distortions while dramatically reducing noise emanating from the compressor. Recoveries of 98.1% at simulated takeoff and 95% at approach were attained with associated sound attenuation of 40 db and 38 db respectively. Inlet lip shape was found to have significant effects on noise attenuation at these static conditions.
Supersonic sled tests on the Sandia 1524-m (5000-ft) track generate sonic booms of sufficient intensity to allow some airblast measurements at distance scales not obtained from wind tunnel or flight tests. During acceleration, an emitted curved boom wave propagates to a caustic, or focus. Detailed measurements around these caustics may help to clarify the overpressure magnification which can occur from real aircraft operations. Six fixed pressure gages have been operated to document the general noise field, and a mobile array of twelve gages.
An experimental program was carried out in the NASA-Langley 4 ft x 4 ft supersonic pressure tunnel to investigate the validity of the heat-field concept for sonic boom alleviation. The concept involves heating the flow about a supersonic aircraft in such a manner as to obtain an increase in effective aircraft length and yield an effective aircraft shape that will result in a shock-free pressure signature on the ground. First, a basic body-of-revolution representing an SST configuration with its lift equivalence in volume was tested to provide a baseline pressure signature. Second, a model having a 5/2-power area distribution which, according to theory, should yield a linear pressure rise with no front shock wave was tested. Third, the concept of providing the 5/2-power area distribution by using an off-axis slender fin below the basic body was investigated. Then a substantial portion (approximately 40 percent) of the solid fin was replaced by a heat field generated by passing heated nitrogen through the rear of the fin.
Sonic discharge coefficients are presented for two different geometry flow nozzles using nitrogen gas at high pressures where real gas corrections are significant. Throat Reynolds number range extended up to 8 million. Experimentally obtained coefficients for a nozzle with a continuous and finite radius of curvature agreed with those obtained analytically to within 0.2 percent. Experimental coefficients for a long radius ASME nozzle agreed to within 1/4 percent to an empirical equation representing the most probable subsonic discharge coefficient.
The analysis of the 14 low-altitude transonic flights showed that the prevailing meteorological consideration of the acoustic disturbances below the cutoff altitude during threshold Mach number flight has shown that a theoretical safe altitude appears to be valid over a wide range of meteorological conditions and provides a reasonable estimate of the airplane ground speed reduction to avoid sonic boom noise during threshold Mach number flight. Recent theoretical results for the acoustic pressure waves below the threshold Mach number caustic showed excellent agreement with observations near the caustic, but the predicted overpressure levels were significantly lower than those observed far from the caustic. The analysis of caustics produced by inadvertent low-magnitude accelerations during flight at Mach numbers slightly greater than the threshold Mach number showed that folds and associated caustics were produced by slight changes in the airplane ground speed. These caustic intensities ranged from 1 to 3 time the nominal steady, level flight intensity.
A solid-state converter, used in a system of instrumentation for measuring aircraft noise and sonic boom, features a dual-gate FET mixer and an output stage designed for compatibility with a zero drive amplifier. With a half-inch condenser microphone the converter itself has an operating frequency range from dc-28 kHz (-3 dB), a dynamic range of 72 dB, and a noise floor of 50 dB in the band from 22.4 Hz to 22.4 kHz; the system requires no impedance matching networks and is insensitive to cable length up to at least 3000 ft.
Study of the focusing of sonic-boom N waves using a numerical shock-following method. The computer code used in the calculations employs a moving mesh so that weak N wave shocks can be followed for large distances without numerical dissipation. In several sample calculations, overpressures at the focus ranging from 2 to 20 times the nominal overpressure have been computed. It is also found that weak shocks tend to cusp at the axis in accord with the geometric-acoustics description, whereas strong shocks straighten out without cusping.
The avoidance of sonic booms places a constraint on aircraft design and can lead to unusual new configurations. From a comparison among several candidate designs, it is shown that an oblique-wing aircraft offers many advantages when structure, stability, flight efficiency, and airport noise are considered jointly.