Aerodynamic analysis of a high-speed aircraft from hypersonic down to subsonic speeds

Abstract. Unmanned flying-test bed aircraft are fundamental to experimentally prove and validate next generation high-speed technologies, such as aeroshape design, thermal protection material and strategy; flight mechanics and guidance-navigation and control. During the test, the aircraft will encounter realistic flight conditions to assess accuracy of new design choices and solutions. In this framework, the paper focuses on the longitudinal aerodynamic analysis of an experimental aircraft, with a spatuled body aeroshape, from subsonic up to hypersonic speeds. Computational flowfield analyses are carried out at several angles of attack ranging from 0 to 15 deg and for Mach numbers from 0.1 to 7. Results are detailed reported and discussed in the paper.