NASA wants to revive supersonic air transport

At Aviation 2014 - an annual exhibition organized by the US Aeronautics and Space Institute, NASA demonstrated new technologies being studied by the agency to revive the supersonic air transport sector in the next 15 years. . NASA's efforts as well as private companies like Aeron or Spike Aerospace promise to open a next generation supersonic transport, following the success of the legendary legend - Concorde.

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The prospect of supersonic passenger transportation began to be rekindled in the 1950s and this seems to be a logical step in the field of civil aviation that has undergone many breakthroughs and transmissions. rapid growth especially in the digital age today. The idea of ​​a flight from London to New York in just 3 hours is seen as a strong push for the economy as well as a way to bring the world closer together.

In the 1960s, the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union - all pursued programs to develop and operate passenger aircraft at speeds above Mach 1 (> 1235km / h). A big technology race took place and the prospect of supersonic passenger planes Concorde, Tupolev, Boeing and Lockheed circled the world under the direction of major airlines seemed to open up ahead. .

Tupolev Tu-144 - the first supersonic aircraft.

However, 1973 was considered a catastrophic year for the aviation industry when the TU-144 - the aircraft model considered the Concorde version of Tupolev, the Soviet Union fell right in the performance at the Paris Air aviation show. Show. Accompanied by OPEC's oil embargo, which has caused difficulties for many economies, especially Western countries, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has also issued a ban on super flights. landing bar on American territory. As a result, programs to develop supersonic transport aircraft were simultaneously canceled, with no orders and only 20 Concorde by the Alliance Aerospatiale of France and British Aircraft Corp (BAC) of British VQ export. Concorde was also exploited only by Air France and British Airways with the support of the governments of the two countries. It is undeniable that Concorde is a very charming, elegant and possessing model of technology ahead of its time. But after the serious crash of the Air France 4590 flight on July 25, 2000 in Paris, Concorde was officially shut down after October 27, 2003 after serving 27 years.

That seems to be the end of supersonic flights except military supersonic planes. But so far, aviation technology has been going on for more than 40 years and private companies and government organizations are seeking to renew the field of civil aviation.

A British Airways Concorde

If you want successful supersonic passenger transport services, the airline industry must overcome many obstacles. One of them is to overpower the supersonic explosion when the plane breaks down the sound wall. Peter Coen, leader of the High Speed ​​Project of NASA's aviation research mission, said: "The restriction of the impact of a supersonic explosion or shock wave is caused by a machine. flying faster than the speed of sound is the most important obstacle to return commercial supersonic flights. Other barriers include emissions on high altitudes, fuel efficiency and the impact of noise for residents around airports ".

How this problem will be solved depends in part on technical factors, in part on the attitude of the community and partly on improving FAA rules that are quite vague on paper. Therefore, NASA and its partners are taking a three-pronged approach to come up with a unified solution.

According to NASA, the agency is currently developing technologies that can be used on civil supersonic aircraft by 2025. Because supersonic explosions are not the same, one of NASA's projects will be for Community members at Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia hear over 140 different supersonic explosions and receive feedback from them.

Similar to the studies carried out by Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, California Air Force Base, the study will help NASA reach its second goal of sitting at the negotiating table with FAA and the Organization. International civil aviation (ICAO) to change the rules for supersonic flights was launched in the 70s of the last century. NASA says the noise levels of supersonic explosions are not specified, so NASA and its partners are now working with law enforcement agencies to provide an acceptable noise level.

Lockheed's supersonic aircraft design model.

On the technical side, NASA centers are scattered across the United States in California, Ohio and Virginia, learning about the natural characteristics of supersonic explosions and studying aircraft designs to minimize work. their movements.

At the Ames research center, wind tunnel tests were conducted to study the ability to shape a supersonic explosion by extending or dissipating shock waves around when changing the design of the body, wings, engine, engine cover and other components on the plane. The best design deduced by the researchers is a sharp, tapered plane nose like a needle, a thin body and a long, triangular clawed wing.

Boeing's supersonic aircraft design with 2 engines mounted on.

A number of designs from major aircraft manufacturers have been tested by NASA in the supersonic wind tunnel. Lockheed Martin's design looks like a body-length version of the Concorde with two lower engines and a third engine on the wing. Meanwhile, Boeing's design is more special with two engines above each wing. According to NASA, the location of engine installation could reduce the impact of the supersonic explosion. The wing-mounted engine can take the explosion upward but in return the aircraft's performance will be affected.

These designs went through NASA wind tunnel tests. The wind tunnels are all designed in a special model to reproduce the characteristics of a full-size flying vehicle operating at supersonic speeds. This allows scientists to measure supersonic explosions at many different distances while estimating engine performance. The test data is then used to validate and adjust the models on the computer.

Experimental model of aircraft in wind tunnel.

In addition, with wind tunnel and airplane model, the researchers also conducted analysis of the flow of air in and out to study the engine shell and adjust the air flow as well as the rate at multiple magnetic speed levels. under the supersonic to the supersonic (up to Mach 1.8) to find ways to integrate them into the supersonic aircraft design without compromising performance.

According to Don Durston, a technician at the High-Speed ​​Project at Ames Research Center, "The purpose of the tests is to measure the impact of the engine shell shape on the supersonic explosion. The initial results are correct. As we predicted, every slight change in the engine cover on the wing of the Boeing aircraft model had a negligible effect on the supersonic explosion, while Lockheed's model with two engines under the wing gave However, these impacts have been anticipated and may be due to the design process used by Lockheed. "

After the test, Peter Coen said excitedly: "We are confident that we have the design tools in hand and have approved the necessary design level. With this momentum, we think the service supersonic passenger transport with low noise is fully achievable ".

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