Mach weighted area ruling for supersonic vehicles
US6942178B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 11, 2003 |
| Grant date | Sep 13, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 11, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02T50/10
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A method and design system for a low drag vehicle includes determining a plurality of configurations for at least two different Mach numbers that minimize the rate of change of cross-sectional area of the vehicle in accordance with the Sears-Haack minimum drag body. A user can specify design objectives and constraints to meet in determining optimum configurations for the vehicle, and the configurations are averaged to determine a final configuration. The at least two configurations can be weighted to emphasize optimum performance at particular operating conditions before averaging the configurations. The second order derivative of cross-sectional area for the final configuration can be smoothed, and then integrated twice to determine the cross-sectional area.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.