Assessment of Air Vehicle Design Evolution over Mach Number and Altitude Operating Envelope With and Without S&C Considerations as Part of the Design Synthesis

摘要

Currently there is interest in developing aircraft with long-range capability at very high speeds. Typical anticipated roles could be reconnaissance and bombing missions. A concern is that, often for the sake of expedience, the conceptual design phases focus more on performance and much less on the more complex S&C aspects (about all axes). Consequently, S&C aspects considered later in the design cycle can severely compromise the original design objectives (L/D, strike capability range, weight growth). A better approach will be to include the major aspects of S&C in the conceptual design phases. Supersonic aircraft require a compromise between low-speed and high-speed capabilities and S&C issues remain very central throughout the operational envelope. The safety considerations may shift the balance more toward low-speed capabilities. The payloads in supersonic aircraft are generally smaller than those of subsonic aircraft. The main objective has been to assess vehicle design evaluation over Mach number and altitude operating envelope with S&C considerations as part of the design synthesis. It is implied that design tools have needed to be 'anchored', so as to focus on the importance of S&C. In this Phase 1 report, we have addressed a series of issues. It is worth mentioning that the analyses tended to expand as we went more deeply into the various aspects, often beyond the initial expectations.