Conceptual Design Methodology for Airbreathing Horizontal Takeoff-and-Landing High-Mach Aircraft

The conceptual design of airbreathing horizontal takeoff-and-landing high-Mach (HTOL Hi-Mach) aircraft is challenging due to the lack of promising data in aerodynamics, weight, and propulsion. This study proposes a conceptual design framework and methodology for HTOL Hi-Mach aircraft with a specific configuration, where the aerodynamic and propulsive data used in sizing were predicted by means of a data-driven aerodynamic model and a numerical turbine-based combined-cycle (TBCC) engine model. The aerodynamic model was established by a deep neural network where the training samples were obtained by high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. A numerical TBCC engine model was built using a one-dimensional isentropic flow model to analyze the performance in terms of thrust and thrust-specific fuel consumption. Additionally, the Küchemann parameter Formula: see text was introduced in aircraft weight and volume estimation to inherently balance the aerodynamic performance and the large fuel volume required. Eventually, the multidisciplinary-models-integrated conceptual design methodology was fully validated, showing its ability in the conceptual design of airbreathing HTOL Hi-Mach aircraft.