Drag Reduction of the Small-scale Supersonic Flight Experiment Vehicle Being Developed at Muroran Institute of Technology (Third Report)

Abstract

A small-scale supersonic flight experiment vehicle named OWASHI is being developed at Muroran Institute of Technology as a flying testbed for verification of innovative technologies for high-speed atmospheric flights which are essential to next-generation aerospace transportation systems. Its transonic thrust margin has been predicted to be insufficient, therefore drag reduction in the transonic and supersonic regimes is quite crucial for attainability of supersonic flights. In this study, the shapes of its airframe components are modified to improve the thrust margin, and the drag reduction effect is evaluated by CFD analysis and wind-tunnel tests. The configuration FY2021 proposed in this study, which incorporates AR Fuselage, Tail Mount Extended 2, Tail Mount Rear Cap, and Intake Type2 into the previous configuration, results in a maximum drag reduction of 137 counts in comparison with the baseline configuration M2011. Its capability of reaching Mach 2.0 is predicted by 3-DOF flight analysis.