A wing concept for supersonic maneuvering

Abstract

A theoretical and experimental program in which a wing concept for supersonic maneuvering was developed and then demonstrated experimentally in a series of wind tunnel tests is described. For the typical fighter wing, the problem of obtaining efficient lift at supersonic maneuvering C sub 's occurs due to development of a strong crossflow shock, and boundary layer separation. A natural means of achieving efficient supersonic maneuvering is based on controlling the non-linear inviscid crossflow on the wing in a manner analogous to the supercritical aerodynamic methods developed for transonic speeds. The application of supercritical aerodynamics to supersonic speeds is carried out using Supercritical Conical Camber (SC3). This report provides an aerodynamic analysis of the effort, with emphasis on wing design using non-linear aerodynamics. The substantial experimental data base is described in three separate wind tunnel reports, while two of the computer programs used in the work are also described in a separate report. Based on the development program it appears that a controlled supercritical crossflow can be obtained reliably on fighter-type wing planforms, with an associated drag due to lift reduction of about 20% projected using this concept