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A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310). This special issue belongs to the section "Aeronautics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2023) | Viewed by 38628

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Roberta Fusaro

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Guest Editor

DIMEAS-Department of Mechanical and Aerospace, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: holistic design of air/space vehicles; high-speed and sustainability; agile multidisciplinary design methodologies; aero-thermodynamic characterization; propulsive characterization; pollutant and noise emission estimation; sonic boom signature; life-cycle cost modelling; impact of integrated and multifunctional subsystem, mission analysis and technology road mapping
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Dr. Mattia Barbarino

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Guest Editor

Head of Computational Acoustics Laboratory, Italian Aerospace Research Center (CIRA), 81043 Capua (CE), Italy
Interests: aero-vibro-acoustics; CFD; machine learning; multidisciplinary optimization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce a new open access Special Issue on the MDPI journal Aerospace dedicated to Supersonic and Hypersonic Transportation Systems. The aim of this Special Issue is to collect the most recent research advancements in the field of high-speed aerospace engineering. As Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I kindly invite you to submit full-research articles and review manuscripts addressing (but not limited to) the following topics:

Supersonic and hypersonic transportation systems design methodologies and tools;
Innovative vehicle configurations for supersonic and hypersonic aircraft, reusable access to space, re-entry vehicles;
Integrated subsystems design;
Aerothermodynamic characterization of high-speed vehicles;
Air-breathing high-speed propulsion systems design and optimization;
High-speed combustion modelling and simulation;
Impact of sustainable aviation fuels: bio-fuels, liquid hydrogen, etc.;
Structural analysis and multidisciplinary multi-objective optimization;
Pollutant and greenhouse gases emission characterization;
Pollutant and greenhouse gases abatement technologies and procedures;
Noise emissions characterization;
Noise abatement technologies and procedures;
Air quality and climate impact;
Sonic boom prediction: signature, atmospheric propagation, and meteorological effects;
Methodologies and tools for life-cycle cost estimations for supersonic and hypersonic transportation systems;
Technology road-mapping methodologies and tools;
Concept of operations analysis: trajectory optimization, out-of-nominal mission, safety assessment, etc.;
Human factors and social acceptance;
Regulatory framework.

Dr. Roberta Fusaro
Dr. Mattia Barbarino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4117 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Survey of Semi-Empirical Jet Noise Models for Preliminary Aircraft Engine Design

by Francesco Petrosino and Mattia Barbarino

Aerospace 2023, 10(7), 625; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10070625 - 10 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1724

Abstract

Scientific research studies on jet noise generation have been ongoing since the early 1950s, when turbojets were first used in commercial aircraft. Several numerical methods have been developed with the aim of reducing the environmental issues related to the impact of jet noise on community annoyance. Among them, the development of fast and comprehensive tools for jet noise prediction captured the attention of researchers and engineers, being very useful in the preliminary design phase of aircraft engines. This work deals with an extensive survey of James R. Stone’s models, initially formulated for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) by Modern Technologies Corporation (MTC), and their implementation in a contemporary numerical framework. The models and their implementation are validated by simulating different engine settings and nozzle configurations taken from the literature with the main scope of highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the different semi-empirical formulations and setting guidelines for their effective use during the design phases of the next generation of supersonic aircraft. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supersonic and Hypersonic Transportation Systems)

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20 pages, 5796 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Improved Method for Initial Sizing of Airbreathing Hypersonic Aircraft

by Yalin Dai, Yu Wang, Xiaoyu Xu and Xiongqing Yu

Aerospace 2023, 10(2), 199; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10020199 - 18 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2793

Abstract

One essential problem in aircraft conceptual design is initial sizing in which the aircraft primary parameters such as weight, size, and thrust are estimated for given design requirements. The airbreathing hypersonic aircraft is a type of novel aircraft and has significant differences from conventional aircraft in terms of its flight speed and propulsion system. Traditional initial sizing methods are not suitable for this type of novel aircraft. This paper presents an improved initial sizing method for the conceptual design of airbreathing hypersonic aircraft. An illustrative airbreathing hypersonic aircraft is used to describe the detailed procedure of the method. The weight and size of the aircraft are estimated through the simultaneous solution of the weight equation and the volume equation. Constraint analysis is applied to determine the solution space of the thrust-to-weight ratio and the wing loading. A thrust trade is conducted to find the minimum takeoff gross weight of the aircraft. The impacts of technology parameters on the weight, size, and thrust are investigated by sensitivity analyses. The presented method is based on rational derivation. It can be expected that the initial sizing results from the method are reasonable and satisfactory for conceptual design of the airbreathing hypersonic aircraft. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supersonic and Hypersonic Transportation Systems)

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19 pages, 13484 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lift Augmentation at Subsonic Speeds by Lateral Jets for a Hypersonic Aircraft

by Haifeng Wang, Jianxia Liu, Feng Deng, Guoshu Li, Yunguang Ding, Qiang Xia and Fan Zhang

Aerospace 2022, 9(12), 745; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9120745 - 23 Nov 2022

Viewed by 2100

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical investigation on the lift augmentation at subsonic speeds by using lateral jets for a hypersonic aircraft equipped with a waverider-type lifting body, which consists of three main parts. The jet slots were arranged along the side edges of the lifting body to study the effect of lateral blowing on the lift augmentation at a freestream Mach number of 0.3. The numerical results based on solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equation indicate that a well-designed lateral blowing can produce a significant lift rise. Then, further work was carried out to investigate the effects of jet parameters, including the jet location, the blowing strength and the blowing direction on lift augmentation, and to provide insights into the associated flow physics. It was found that blowing on the middle and rear parts of the lifting body achieves the maximum lift augmentation among the chosen configurations. Additionally, it was confirmed that the lift augmentation increases as the jet momentum increases, and blowing in the direction of

θ_{j e t}

= −45°, which means the jet blows slightly towards the lower surface of the lifting body, produces a larger lift rise than other directions. The lift augmentation can be explained by the fact that a well-designed lateral blowing can amplify the effectiveness of the vortices shedding from the side edges of the lifting body, resulting in an increase in the vortex lift. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supersonic and Hypersonic Transportation Systems)

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23 pages, 1411 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preliminary Design and Analysis of Supersonic Business Jet Engines

by Timo Schlette and Stephan Staudacher

Aerospace 2022, 9(9), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9090493 - 2 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3807

Abstract

Currently projected supersonic business jets target selected supersonic flight missions with Mach numbers of about 1.4 and a larger number of long-range subsonic flight missions. They form a new type of aircraft that is specially tailored to these requirements. The question arises as to which engine configurations and technology levels are required to support these new applications. This is addressed firstly by exploring the design space of potential working cycles. An aircraft model is used to translate the results of the cycle study into an expected aircraft range. An optimal core engine and fan configuration result from the cycle study and the derived mission ranges. The preliminary design of the low-pressure components is investigated in the second step based on the optimal core configuration. The highest non-dimensional parameters are encountered in subsonic flight conditions. The highest dimensional parameters are encountered in supersonic high-altitude flight conditions. High-overall-efficiency configurations do not result in optimal aircraft ranges. There is an optimal number of two fan stages and a specific thrust of about 300 m/s, resulting in a maximum aircraft range that is 11% superior to that achievable with a single-stage fan. A fan hub-to-tip ratio range that is comparable to that of military fans is desirable, with an aerodynamic lower limit around 0.37. The low-pressure turbine stage count is a compromise between turbine mass and size. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supersonic and Hypersonic Transportation Systems)

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23 pages, 3200 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aerodynamic Analysis of a Supersonic Transport Aircraft at Low and High Speed Flow Conditions

by Andrea Aprovitola, Oleksandr Dyblenko, Giuseppe Pezzella and Antonio Viviani

Aerospace 2022, 9(8), 411; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9080411 - 29 Jul 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 10031

Abstract

The recent improvement of technology readiness level in aeronautics and the renewed demand for faster transportation are driving the rebirth of supersonic flight for commercial aviation. However, the design of a future supersonic aircraft is still very challenging due to the complexity of several problems, such as static stability performance during the acceleration phase from subsonic speeds to supersonic speeds. Additionally, the interest of scientific community in open source numerical platform as a valid tool for a reliable and affordable aerodynamic design is considerably growing. In this framework, the present work addresses the aerodynamic performance of a Concorde-like aeroshape developed within the preliminary design of a high-speed civil transportation aircraft. Several flight conditions, ranging from subsonic to supersonic speeds, were investigated in detail by using Computational Fluid Dynamics. The aerodynamic force and moment coefficients are computed with fully three-dimensional and steady state Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes simulations, carried out in turbulent flow conditions. The effect of the Mach number variation on the shift of the aircraft aerodynamic center is detailed, by focusing on the aircraft pitching static stability. Flowfield numerical simulations are performed with both commercial (Ansys-Fluent) tool and open-source (SU2) code, which is also used extensively in multidisciplinary design procedures, for further comparisons. Particular attention is focused on the shift of the aeroshape aerodynamic center to verify that the provided wing design allows the aircraft static margin to be within 5% of the reference length, both at low-speed and high-speed flight conditions. The computed positions of the aerodynamic center are in agreement with the aeroshape surface pressure distributions and confirmed the literature results available for the Concorde aircraft. Therefore, in the view of future simulation campaigns for supersonic transportation aircraft, the present work aims to bridge the gap between previous aerodynamic design experiences, for instance matured on Concorde, and those carried out with modern CFD tools on full-scale aircraft, and on time-scales compatible with conceptual design practice. Finally, as the difference between the computed aerodynamic coefficients reflected mainly on drag computation performed with SU2, a special focus on numerical diffusion effect of the solver is also given and compared with a commercial certified CFD tool. This adds a unique further contribution to the SU2 community for aeronautics application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supersonic and Hypersonic Transportation Systems)

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34 pages, 7206 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Assessment of an Integrated Environmental Control System of Civil Hypersonic Vehicles

by Nicole Viola, Davide Ferretto, Roberta Fusaro and Roberto Scigliano

Aerospace 2022, 9(4), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9040201 - 7 Apr 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3766

Abstract

This paper discloses the architecture and related performance of an environment control system designed to be integrated within a complex multi-functional thermal and energy management system that manages the heat loads and generation of electric power in a hypersonic vehicle by benefitting from the presence of cryogenic liquid hydrogen onboard. A bleed-less architecture implementing an open-loop cycle with a boot-strap sub-freezing air cycle machine is suggested. Hydrogen boil-off reveals to be a viable cold source for the heat exchangers of the system as well as for the convective insulation layer designed around the cabin walls. Including a 2 mm boil-off convective layer into the cabin cross-section proves to be far more effective than a more traditional air convective layer of approximately 60 mm. The application to STRATOFLY MR3, a Mach 8 waverider cruiser using liquid hydrogen as propellant, confirmed that presence of cryogenic tanks provides up to a 70% reduction in heat fluxes entering the cabin generated outside of it but inside the vehicle, by the propulsive system and other onboard systems. The effectiveness of the architecture was confirmed for all Mach numbers (from 0.3 to 8) and all flight altitudes (from sea level to 35 km). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supersonic and Hypersonic Transportation Systems)

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28 pages, 6094 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Estimation of Transport-Category Jet Airplane Maximum Range and Airspeed in the Presence of Transonic Wave Drag

by Jan Wislicenus and Nihad E. Daidzic

Aerospace 2022, 9(4), 192; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9040192 - 2 Apr 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3534

Abstract

One of the most difficult steps in estimating the cruise performance characteristics of high-subsonic transport-category turbofan-powered airplanes is the estimation of the transonic wave drag. Modern jet airplanes cruise most efficiently in the vicinity of the drag-divergence or drag-rise Mach numbers. In the initial design phase and later when the preliminary wind-tunnel and/or CFD computations and drag polars are known with increased accuracy, a method of estimating cruise performance is needed. In this study, a new semi-empirical transonic wave drag model using modified Lock’s equation was developed. For maximum range cruise estimations, an optimization criterion based on maximizing specific air range was used. The resulting nonlinear equations are of 12th- and 13th-order. Numerical Newton–Raphson nonlinear solvers were used to find real positive roots of such polynomials. The NR method was first tested for accuracy and convergence using known analytical solutions. A methodology for an initial guess was developed starting with the maximum-range cruise Mach without the wave-drag included. This guess resulted in fast quadratic convergence in all computations. Other novel features of this article include a new semi-empirical fuel-flow law, which was also extensively tested. Additionally, a semi-empirical turbofan thrust model usable for a wide range of bypass ratios and the entire flight envelope was developed. Such physics-based semi-empirical model can be used for a wide range of turbofans. The algorithm can be utilized to identify most beneficial input parameter values and combinations for the cruise flight phase. The model represents a powerful tool to estimate important cruise performance airspeeds located in the transonic regime. An intended application is in the conceptual development stages for early design optimizations of future airplanes. It is possible with additional effort to extend existing model capabilities to deal with supersonic transports optimal cruise parameters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supersonic and Hypersonic Transportation Systems)

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18 pages, 5519 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Switching-Based Control Method for the Fairing Separation Control of Axisymmetric Hypersonic Vehicles

by Qin Zhong, Yonghua Fan and Wenbin Wu

Aerospace 2022, 9(3), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9030132 - 3 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2363

Abstract

For hypersonic-vehicle fairing separation, the reliable separation of the fairing and rapid suppression of the separation disturbance are required in scenarios where there is high dynamic pressure and there are abrupt changes in the aerodynamic shape of the aircraft as well as overall parameters. A switching-based control method is proposed in this paper for the interference suppression of hypersonic-vehicle fairing separation, aiming to ensure the stability of the control system in cases of abrupt changes in the controlled object. First, an unsteady-flow calculation method is adopted to clarify the aerodynamic interference characteristics of the aircraft in fairing separation, and the aerodynamic calculation model of the hypersonic-vehicle fairing-separation process is established; then, two states of the aircraft, with and without fairing, are transformed into a subsystem with switching characteristics. The attitude-stability problem in the fairing-separation process is transformed into a problem of solving the arbitrary switching of the switched system by using the linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach. Meanwhile, the control system for interference suppression of the fairing separation is designed by considering the aerodynamic interaction of the fairing movement with the aircraft during the separation. The simulation results showed that the designed control system can realize the reliable separation of the fairing under high dynamic pressure and effectively suppress interference in the separation process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supersonic and Hypersonic Transportation Systems)

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Review

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12 pages, 243 KiB

Open AccessReview

Supersonic Combustion Modeling and Simulation on General Platforms

by Shizhuo Huang, Qian Chen, Yuwei Cheng, Jinyu Xian and Zhengqi Tai

Aerospace 2022, 9(7), 366; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9070366 - 7 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3250

Abstract

Supersonic combustion is an advanced technology for the next generation of aerospace vehicles. In the last two decades, numerical simulation has been widely used for the investigation on supersonic combustion. In this paper, the modeling and simulation of supersonic combustion on general platforms are thoroughly reviewed, with emphasis placed on turbulence modeling and turbulence–chemistry interactions treatment which are both essential for engineering computation of supersonic combustion. It is found that the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes methods on the general platforms have provided useful experience for the numerical simulation in engineering design of supersonic combustion, while the large eddy simulation methods need to be widely utilized and further developed on these platforms. Meanwhile, the species transport models as a kind of reasonable combustion model accounting for the turbulence–chemistry interactions in supersonic combustion have achieved good results. With the development of new combustion models, especially those designed in recent years for high-speed combustion, the turbulence–chemistry interactions treatment for numerical simulation of supersonic combustion based on general platforms is expected to be further mature in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Supersonic and Hypersonic Transportation Systems)

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