International Journal of Mechanical And Production Engineering, ISSN: 2320-2092, Volume- 2, Issue- 6, June-2014

A DETAILED ANALYSIS ON THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED

WITH SUPERSONIC AIRCRAFTS
1
ABHISHEK P H, 2LOGESH S, 3AMRITH KUMAR S, 4AJAY VISHWATH N C, 5AKSHAI SRIRAM,
6
JOYCE MATTHEW ZACHRIAH, 7HIREN BARAI
1,2,3,4,5,6,7
SRM University
E-mail: abi.abishek7@gmail.com,logeshsadhasivam@gmail.com,amrithuniverseblast@gmail.com

Abstract- Today, the modern world is in race of speed and technology to fulfill the race in aviation the alternative
configurations for more efficient is supersonic aircrafts which is suggested by consideration of the sources of drag at high
speeds. Results of studies described in this paper indicate that supersonic aircraft with much higher efficiencies than
previously achieved are possible with reduced Mach number. The paper focuses on the problem associated on delta wings of
SR71 - Blackbird. In this paper we review some of the fundamental issues for potential efficient supersonic aircraft on
unconventional configurations that may provide significant improvements in high speed efficiency and problems using CFD
analysis.

Index Terms- Mach number, high speed, compressible flow, delta wing, efficiency.

I. INTRODUCTION and range of the aircraft. To proceed, all these issues

An aircraft capable of flying at a speed greater than
Mach 1, defined as a supersonic speed, can encounter
technical challenges. Efficient supersonic flight is
sometimes considered an oxymoron. Although the
savings in time, reduced crew costs, and potential
higher utilization are obvious incentives for high
speed flight, the penalties in fuel consumption (and
corresponding environmental impact) are dramatic.
As shown in figure 1, the lift-to-drag ratio of a
supersonic airplane is typically half that of subsonic
aircraft and continues to drop as the Mach number is
increased. The drop in performance between Mach 0.9
and Mach 1.2 or so is not simply caused by an increase
in dynamic pressure but rather a fundamental change
in the character of the fluid flow, which leads to
dramatic differences in configuration design and
aerodynamic efficiency.
are analyzed on the successful SR 71 Blackbird
and seen if it can be made more efficient.
II. EFFECTS ON SUPERSONIC AIRCRAFT
The emphasis of this discussion on aerodynamic
performance stems from the great importance of
aerodynamics on the performance of supersonic
aircraft. This is due to several factors:
The typical L/D of supersonic aircraft is less than
50% of subsonic aircraft
Supersonic aircraft missions include significant
off-design operation
Fuel, emissions, and engine size are directly affected
by drag
Indirect effects on performance due to aircraft weight
increases from all of the above multiply these effects.

Figure1. Maximum lift-to-drag ratio of a conventional

supersonic aircraft designed for flight at Mach 2.4.
This paper addresses the question how these
challenges are solvable. To explore these challenges,
the problems are listed. These being, Wing
configuration, heating effect, Engine selection. All the
problems have a certain impact on the structural issues
Figure 2. Conventional swept wing and low sweep supersonic
design
III. WING CONFIGURATION
The wing, being the heart of the aircraft, needs to
have a small wingspan owing to the need of low drag

A Detailed Analysis on the Problems Associated With Supersonic Aircrafts

40
International Journal of Mechanical And Production Engineering, ISSN: 2320-2092,
during supersonic flight. This may reduce
aerodynamic efficiency during cruise at low speeds.
Delta wings and Variable Geometry wings are used
commonly in supersonic aircrafts. The Blackbird
incorporates a Tailless delta, one of the first type.
One of the disadvantages of using this type of wing is
Figure 3. Example of CFD analysis carried out with solution
steering to supersonic speed.
From the above values we can infer that the cropped
delta wing produces the highest lift during cruise at
Mach 3.3. Since the climb rate and cruise performance
vary directly with Cl, it exhibits increased
performance.
A lower value of Cl is required to increase the turning
performance and the take-off and landing speeds.
The effect of stability is affected only when there is a
gust. The Wing loading Ws varies directly as Cl. So
the higher the value of Cl the lesser it is affected by
gust.
A Detailed Analysis on the Problems Associated With Supersonic Aircrafts
41
Volume- 2, Issue- 6, June-2014
IV. HEATING EFFECT
Friction due to air flowing over the aircraft causes
heating issues. Higher speeds would produce more
heat. The nose of the aircraft is the hottest structure
due to aerodynamic cheating. Heating also causes the
fuselage to expand by a small amount (about 300 mm
for the Concorde). Some of the aircrafts use Dural, an
aluminium alloy, which are cheap but lose their
strength at high temperatures. The hinduminium, also
an aluminum alloy, is a high strength and high
temperature alloy which, though having a high
melting point(635C) can withstand a maximum of
127`c , due to life consideratons thus limiting the
speed to Mach 2.02.
Figure 4. Heating Effect on SR-71
Titanium, a costly material, when used could
withstand higher temperatures. Most of the
blackbirds airframe was composed of an alloy of this
material which reduced the temperature withstanding
and life of the aircraft. At speeds of Mach 3.2, the
temperature went up to 260.
Composites, also costly, have been used to great extent
in the aircraft industry. Being a lightweight material,
it promotes fuel savings thus giving longer ranges,
which is a requirement in military aircrafts.
The use of self-healing materials, mainly the
UV-epoxy type could prevent minor cracks in the
airframe thus extending the life of the aircraft.
The aircraft livery also plays a major role in the
heating effect of the aircraft. Anti-flash white, used in
most aircrafts reduces the heat by 6 to 11 degree
Celsius. The Blackbird was painted a dark blue color
for stealth which contributes to heating of the skin of
the aircraft.
The use of these materials could improve the life span
of the aircraft, thus promoting more speed, high heat
transfer rates and super cruise. Another concern is the
expansion of the fuselage that could result while flying
at supersonic speeds. The aircraft was made to
International Journal of Mechanical And Production Engineering, ISSN: 2320-2092,
counteract to these problem, by attaching the fuselage
panels a bit loosely. This could cause serious issues
while flying at a slower speed. Thus it is recommended
to use materials that dont expand at such speeds as
mentioned above.
V. ENGINE SELECTION
The selection of the engine of the aircraft depends
upon its purpose and required speed. The blackbird is
one of the fastest having a speed of Mach 3.3. It uses
the Pratt and Whitney J58-1 afterburning turbojet as
its engine. Though fast, it also had a good range. This
engine used a special type of fuel known as the JP-7.
This was used because of the high compression that
the air underwent during combustion. In such cases
high flash point of the material needs to be considered.
Biodiesel, a type of fuel may also be considered as it
has a higher flash point than JP-7(130).
Turbofan engines of the low bypass type are used for
greater efficiency although for a super cruise turbojet
engines are preferred as they give less nacelle drag.
The use of alternative forms of propulsion such as
electromagnetic propulsion could also be considered.
When cooled to extremely low temperatures,
electromagnets demonstrate an unusual behavior: For
the first few nanoseconds after electricity is applied to
then they vibrate. When this vibration is contained in
one direction it could provide enough of a jolt to move
the aircraft at a higher speed upon which a scramjet
could take over.
CONCLUSION
Supersonic flight represents a domain in aircraft
design with many challenges and with many
remaining opportunities for unconventional solutions
to long-standing problems.
Though the wing configuration on the Blackbird was
effective, nevertheless, a cropped delta type wing
would have served better. Instead of stealth, if the
aircraft had been chosen for normal missions
Anti-flash white could have lessened its heating effect,
A Detailed Analysis on the Problems Associated With Supersonic Aircrafts
42
Volume- 2, Issue- 6, June-2014
thereby enabling it to fly at even higher speeds without
affecting the life of the aircraft. The use of alternative
forms of propulsion could also be looked into for
achieving supercruise.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We take this opportunity to express our profound
gratitude and deep regards to our Professors,
Department of Aerospace Engineering,SRM
University for their valuable guidance, monitoring
and encouragement throughout the course of this
research paper report accomplishment.
REFERENCES
[1] S. Chen, B. Mulgrew, and P. M. Grant, A
clustering technique for digital communications
channel equalization using radial basis function
networks, IEEE Trans. on Neural Networks, vol. 4,
pp. 570-578, July 1993.
[2] J. U. Duncombe, Infrared navigationPart I: An
assessment of feasibility, IEEE Trans. Electron
Devices, vol. ED-11, pp. 34-39, Jan. 1959.
[3] C. Y. Lin, M. Wu, J. A. Bloom, I. J. Cox, and M.
Miller, Rotation, scale, and translation resilient
public watermarking for images, IEEE Trans. Image
Process., vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 767-782, May 2001.
[4] I.Kroo,Unconventional configurations for
efficient supersonic flight, Stanford university,
U.S.A, VKI lecture series on Innovative
Configurations and Advanced Concepts for Future
Civil Aircraft, June 6-10, 2005.
[5] Carmichael, R.L. and Woodward. F.A., An
integrated approach to the analysis and design of
wings and wing - body combinations in supersonic
flow, NASA TN D 3685,1966
[6] Middleton, W. D. and Lundry, J. L. A
computational system for aerodynamic design and
analysis of supersonic aircraft, NASA CR - 2715,
March 1976.