Passenger Spaceplanes and Airplanes that Have Variable Configuration for Sonic Boom Reduction

In the last time, the interest for passenger space plane, supersonic passenger aircraft and supersonic business jets is increasing. For reducing sonic boom effects at ground level, some companies proposed airplanes having fuselage with small traversal section or having curved fuselage. This paper presents a new practical method for exciting vibrations in the leading edge of wing, tail and airplane's nose surfaces in order to scatter the shock wave and to reduce the sonic boom impact at ground level. The leading edges of wing, tail and airplane nose are covered with thin elastic fairings made of carbon fiber composite material which are separated through small gaps by the adjacent surfaces of wing, tail and nose. When the aircraft flies over populated areas, compressed air bleed from the engine compressors excites the vibration of carbon fiber fairings. The air is released through calibrated nozzles and directly impinges on the fairing surface generating their vibration. Thus, the shock waves are scattered and the impact of sonic boom on ground is much reduced