X-59 CFD and Sonic Boom Assessments

Abstract

X-59 is a NASA experimental demonstrator aircraft designed to mitigate the adverse impact of sonic boom through advanced aircraft shaping methodologies. The Lockheed Martin (LM) Corporation was awarded a contract to manufacture the X-59 to demonstrate unique boom shaping technologies and address system integration challenges to be able to limit maximum sonic boom perceived level of loudness to be less than 75 dB across the entire carpet while cruising at a Mach number of 1.4. Initial flights and envelope expansion of the X-59 is expected to begin in 2022, with community tests expected at multiple locations starting from early 2024. This paper discusses the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and sonic boom assessment of the X-59.