Layout Design and Optimization Analysis of Combined Hypersonic Vehicle

Aerodynamic layout is critical for hypersonic aircraft. In this paper, a multi-component combined design method based on multiple reference flow fields was proposed. Based on the cone-derived waverider, the aerodynamic layout design of the hypersonic vehicle with adjustable parameters was achieved by segmented sequence and multi-piece combination method. The vehicle was decomposed into three components, including forebody, wing and centerbody. The forebody and the wing were designed with the cone-derived waverider. The centerbody configuration was designed according to the volume requirements, so that the aircraft can meet the pressure closure at the edge, and the effective volume was concentrated in the vicinity of the centerbody. Therefore, the function of different components became clear. Finally, the layout design of the hypersonic cruise vehicle with "waverider characteristics" was realized, meanwhile, the design parameters were adjustable. In this paper, the difference between the combined layout and the traditional waverider was compared. The influence on the aerodynamic performance of the length, length-to-width ratio and length-to-thickness ratio of the centerbody was studied. The free-form deformation(FFD) technology was used to realize the parameterization and optimization design process of the hypersonic vehicle. The results show that the combined layout has higher volumetric efficiency, adjustable parameters and good waverider characteristics. The new method can provide a reference for improving the lift-to-drag ratio of hypersonic vehicle and meeting the requirements of engineering applications in the future.