Maximizing Lift-to-Drag and Thrust-to-Drag Ratios for Trimmed Hypersonic Vehicles

What is it about?

The lift, thrust and drag of a hypersonic vehicle were computed for 84 different geometries that have the general shape of an X-43 vehicle. The dimensions of different parts of the vehicle were varied. Computational methods determined the geometry that has the highest ratio of lift to drag and ratio of thrust to drag when the vehicle. Also, the trajectory of the ascent was optimized using computer codes in order to minimize the mass of fuel that is required to accelerate from Mach 7 to Mach 13.

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