Aircraft Noise Generation and Assessment Section 5-Overall Vehicle System Noise, Part d-Sonic Boom

Area of Science:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Acoustics
• Human Factors

Background:

• Renewed global interest in civil supersonic overland flight.
• Technological advancements enabling low-boom aircraft design.
• Need for international rule changes to permit supersonic flight over land.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe recent international advances in sonic boom mitigation.
• To review cooperative research in sonic boom design and modeling.
• To assess human subjective responses to sonic booms.

Main Methods:

• Aircraft shape optimization for pressure control.
• Sonic boom propagation modeling.
• Human subjective response studies.

Main Results:

• It is possible to design low-boom aircraft by tailoring vehicle shape.
• Far-field pressures can be controlled to minimize ground-level sonic booms.
• International research is progressing in design, modeling, and response assessment.

Conclusions:

• Low-boom supersonic aircraft design is feasible.
• Further research and international cooperation are crucial for enabling civil supersonic overland flight.
• Addressing sonic boom concerns is key to regulatory approval.