Capturing the Boom
NASA and industry partners are working to develop technologies
that will reduce the noise and annoyance associated with sonic booms so that
aviation authorities can consider lifting the prohibitions on
overland supersonic air travel. An Armstrong research team is
designing and executing tests to record various aspects of sonic booms. The
tests capture numerous aircraft boom signatures through innovative recording
methods, planning, and piloting techniques and are primarily used to advance
NASA's understanding of how booms are formed and propagated.
Work to date: The Armstrong team and a number of
industry partners have identified and validated several methods and techniques
for capturing and measuring sonic booms. A notable method is the Boom Amplitude
and Direction Sensor (BADS), which employs six pressure transducers widely
spaced on the vertices of an octahedron. Similarly, Supersonic Notification of
Over Pressure Instrumentation (SNOOPI),
an all-weather pressure transducer system, records local sonic
booms by date, time, and intensity, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. This test
equipment, in conjunction with more traditional microphones, is used to record
sonic booms generated through special piloting techniques specifically designed
for sonic boom placement and mitigation. From these methods and techniques, the
Armstrong team has collected test
data from various projects to determine how F/A-18 dive
maneuvers may create lower-level and focused booms.
Looking ahead: The team will continue to advance NASA's
understanding of sonic boom phenomena via sonic boom tests and data analysis.
This includes potential research in atmospheric turbulence effects on sonic
booms and community response to low booms. These activities will play a key
role in the testing of an anticipated low-noise sonic boom flight demonstrator
aircraft.
Partners: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Dassault Aviation, Gulfstream,
The Boeing Company, Pennsylvania State University, Wyle, Cessna Aircraft
Company, NASA's Langley Research Center, and NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center
Engineering Successes
Armstrong's Research and Engineering Directorate is responsible
for the overall engineering content of flight research projects. Our engineers
provide technical expertise in aerodynamics; guidance, navigation, and control;
propulsion; static and dynamic structures; flight hardware and software; flight
and ground test instrumentation and data systems; and system engineering and
integration. They apply their expertise across the spectrum of Armstrong's many
activities and also support the development and continual evolution of
engineering tools and test techniques. Here are highlights from a few recent
and particularly notable engineering success stories.
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