Engineers from TsAGI and Zhukovsky National Research Center have developed a new aerodynamic model for testing a prospective supersonic aircraft. The dynamic nose section is capable of reproducing not only the shape of a real aircraft but also its behavior under the influence of airflows and wind gusts; the documentation was published in the FIPS database.
For modern supersonic airliners with a long, elongated nose, this is one of the most challenging tasks. During takeoff, landing, and flight in a turbulent atmosphere, the nose section experiences bending loads and can oscillate under the influence of airflow.
The new development allows these processes to be investigated at the design stage. Instead of a single rigid structure, the model's nose consists of separate sections 10–25% of the total length of the nose section.
Technological gaps of 3–7 mm are left between them, allowing the structure to deform freely during tests.
The first nose compartment is made separately and occupies only 3–5% of the nose section's length, which allows for the most accurate modeling of the fairing's aerodynamics. A prototype has already been manufactured and tested at TsAGI, confirming the operability of the proposed design.
It should be noted that the problem of the long nose was never solved on the "Concorde" and Tu-144; these aircraft never went into mass production. Andrey Dutov, General Director of Zhukovsky National Research Center, explained that the prospective Russian supersonic aircraft will fly without a droop nose section of the cockpit — the highlight of the Tu-144.