What is the damaging effect of shockwave on aircraft at Mach 2?

Question

-effect of shockwaves and expansion waves on aircraft at Mach 2
- what is the speed of shock waves,
- How shcokwave and expansion fans are geerated on airfoil

Answer 1

The damaging effects are minimal as now engineers can design aircraft to withstand the loads of flying at Mach 2. The problem is that the human body (pilot) is much harder to protects from these effects.

Aerodynamic researchers found remarkable agreement between the tunnel tests of exceedingly small X-15 models and actual results, with the exception of drag measurements. Drag produced by the blunt aft end of the aircraft proved 15% higher on the actual aircraft than wind-tunnel tests had predicted. At Mach 6, the X-15 absorbed eight times the heating load it experienced at Mach 3, with the highest heating rates occurring in the frontal and lower surfaces of the aircraft, which received the brunt of airflow impact. During the first Mach 5+ excursion, four expansion slots in the leading edge of the wing generated turbulent vortices that increased heating rates to the point that the external skin behind the joints buckled. As a solution, technicians added small Inconel alloy strips over the slots, and the X-15 flew without further evidence of buckling. It offered ”… a classical example of the interaction among aerodynamic flow, thermodynamic properties of air, and elastic characteristics of structure.” 3

Heating and turbulent flow generated by the protruding cockpit enclosure posed other problems; on two occasions, the outer panels of the X-15's heavy glass cockpit windshields fractured because heating loads in the expanding frame overstressed the soda-lime glass. NASA solved the difficulty by changing the cockpit frame from Inconel to titanium, modifying its configuration, and replacing the outer glass panels with high-temperature alumina silica glass. Another problem concerned an old aerodynamics and structures bugaboo, panel flutter. Panels along the flanks of the X-15 fluttered at airspeeds above Mach 2.4, forcing engineers to add longitudinal metal stiffeners to the panels.

Answer 2

The first aircraft to break Mach 2 was the Douglas Skyrocket D-558-2 in 1953. It was a research aircraft though, not a fighter aircraft. I think the first Mach 2 fighter aircraft was the English Electric Lightning, but I'm not 100% sure. Correction: The F-104 Starfighter flew just a few months before the Lightning, making it the first Mach 2 fighter....although technically it's an interceptor.

Answer 3

An additional effect of supersonic travel is control reversal - where the resultant acting lift can move back, behind the aerodynamic centre of the wing. Therefore control inputs will produce the opposite response to that intented - a few test pilots were killed as a result of this phenomenon until understanding of the physics behind it was attained.

Nowadays, modern Flight Control Systems will automatically "reverse" the controls if appropriate at these speeds, thus still allowing the pilot to fly care-free.

Oh, and dont forget that if you were to overfly land at Mach 2 - the resulting pressure waves from the Mach cone would shatter most of the glass in the area.........

Answer 4

Sonic Boom.......leads to structural damage...especially the rudder.......more????????????...you may go to the site below....

Answer 5

Dingo is clueless. the other is on the money.