Aerion expands collaboration with NASA to include supersonic design code maturation

Aerion Corporation today announced that it is collaborating with NASA Glenn Research Center to mature NASA's new SUPIN (SUPersonic INlet) computer code, which has been developed to perform aerodynamic design and analysis on engine inlets for future high-speed aircraft, such as Aerion's planned supersonic business jet (SBJ).

Aerion and NASA will work together on inlet design and advanced boundary layer control methods to achieve efficient and stable supersonic inlet operation without boundary layer bleed. The use of bleed reduces efficiency, as well as increases cost and complexity. Thus, a no-bleed inlet could benefit SBJ performance in anticipated real-world operating conditions. Collaboration with NASA on their SUPIN code began this month and is expected to last approximately one year.

"Our collaborative effort with NASA Glenn to mature the SUPIN supersonic inlet design code builds on our existing relationship with NASA Dryden and both partnerships could pay dividends for years to come in the form of faster and more efficient flight," said Dr. Richard Tracy, Aerion's chief technology officer.

This arrangement, made possible through a Space Act Agreement, is in addition to the company's ongoing collaboration with NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on another round of supersonic F-15B flights featuring an Aerion test article. The additional flights, scheduled for this summer, are intended to evaluate supersonic boundary layer transition properties as they relate to manufacturing standards for surface quality and assembly tolerances. These flights and the engine inlet design code maturation project represent two vital elements in the company's plan to design the world's first supersonic business jet.