Aircraft Evolution

Predicting Evolution of Aircraft Shape in the Supersonic and Transonic Regimes

I developed models to predict the evolution of aircraft shape in the supersonic and transonic regimes. Specifically, I looked into the optimization of the ratio of wing span versus fuselage length for the minimization of drag and skin friction effects across the surface area of the plane. The inspiration for this project arose from Dr. Adrian Bejan's research into this relationship in the subsonic region, and I was lucky enough to have Dr. Bejan as an advisor for this research. At the culmination of this research, I presented a final paper to Dr. Bejan and a handful of peers. A short excerpt from this paper is shown below.

Equation 16 contains the final result of this supersonic analysis, showing the ratio of wing span to fuselage length and its dependence on many factors, namely mass, gravity, average density, air density, maximum allowable stress, velocity, lift coefficient, skin friction coefficient, and wave drag coefficient, as well as a constant coefficient. This model utilizes economies of scale as well as the assumption of a small angle of attack to reach this conclusion, as well as the assumption that wave drag acts only upon the same surfaces as skin friction. Despite these assumptions, the model does conclude a different path of evolution for aircraft designed for subsonic conditions as opposed to those designed to fly at supersonic speeds.