German researchers model supersonic noise to inform future certification rules

The German Aerospace Center is working on better ways to predict the noise civil supersonic aircraft would make, including the sonic boom generated at supersonic speeds. The work is intended to feed into international certification standards that have not yet been written.

The current project, STORMIE-2, follows an earlier programme called Supersonic Transport Open Research Models and Impact on Environment, or STORMIE. In that first phase, running from 2023 to 2026, researchers at the center built a single platform for designing and assessing civil supersonic configurations. One goal was reliable forecasts of environmental effects such as take-off and landing noise and the sonic boom.

Flying faster during cruise would shorten travel times on many routes. But no broadly applicable certification regulations cover such aircraft, leaving manufacturers to make significant design choices without assurance their aircraft will satisfy rules still to be agreed internationally. Regulators face a matching difficulty: they must build frameworks for aircraft about which little data exists.

The center describes its part in STORMIE-2 as acting like a virtual manufacturer, positioned between industry and the authorities.

Three configurations drawn up during the predecessor project are being studied again with more detailed aerodynamic and flight-mechanical techniques. Additional design variants are also under review to gauge sensitivities and uncertainty.