Abstract

Supersonic aircraft operate in highly compressible flow environments where shock waves significantly influence aerodynamic efficiency. This research investigates the performance of a NACA supersonic airfoil using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations.

Objectives
Analyze pressure distribution across the airfoil.
Study lift and drag characteristics.
Investigate shock wave formation.
Compare aerodynamic efficiency across multiple Mach numbers.
Methodology

A three-dimensional CAD model of the airfoil was generated and imported into OpenFOAM and ANSYS Fluent. Structured meshing was performed with local refinement near the leading edge. Simulations were conducted for Mach numbers ranging from 1.2 to 2.5 using the k-ω SST turbulence model.

Results

Simulation results demonstrated increasing wave drag with higher Mach numbers. Pressure contours clearly indicated normal and oblique shock formations. The lift-to-drag ratio decreased significantly beyond Mach 2 due to stronger compressibility effects.

Findings
Shock wave intensity increases with velocity.
Aerodynamic efficiency decreases after Mach 2.
Leading-edge geometry strongly influences drag.
CFD accurately predicts supersonic flow behavior.
Conclusion

Computational simulations provide reliable aerodynamic predictions while significantly reducing experimental costs. Optimized airfoil geometry can improve future supersonic aircraft performance.