Year: 2024 | Month: October-December | Volume: 9 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 454-463
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijshr.20240450
Aerodynamic Challenges and Innovations in Wing Designs for Supersonic Flight: A Comprehensive Review
Hong Yee Julian Ooi
Newton South High School, 140 Brandeis Rd, Newton, MA 02459
ABSTRACT
Supersonic flight has been of interest for decades due to the advantages it offers in speed and efficiency of transport, which are advantageous to both commercial and military aircraft. This paper covers a comprehensive review of various wing configurations for supersonic flight. We explore the aerodynamic and structural challenges associated with the various wing types. Supersonic flight offers significant benefits, but also poses complex engineering challenges including concerns with drag, stability, and sonic booms. This review examines the performance of straight, low-sweep, swept-back, delta, forward-swept, and oblique wings and highlights their respective advantages and limitations across different regimes. Straight and low-sweep wings excel at subsonic speeds, but struggle with high drag at supersonic velocities, while swept-back wings and delta wings offer superior performance at high speeds but come with trade-offs in lift and low-speed efficiency. Forward-swept wings provide potential for noise reduction and overall favorable supersonic flight characteristics, but face challenges like aeroelastic instability. Oblique wings, though promising in reducing drag and sonic booms, have significant structural challenges at high Mach numbers. Ongoing research in materials science and aerodynamic modeling continues to advance supersonic aircraft design. These studies and development efforts are paving the way for next-generation supersonic aircraft.
Keywords: Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering; Computation and Theory; Supersonic Flight; Wing Design; Aerodynamics and Sonic Booms