Collier Aerospace’s HyperX Software Enhanced Nose Cone of Swift’s X-59 Aircraft

As part of NASA’s Quiet Supersonic Technology (Quesst) mission, the X-59 aircraft from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works is designed to address the issue of loud sonic booms produced by supersonic flight. Data will be collected on the acceptance of the quiet sonic boom created by the X-59 in hopes of lifting the ban on commercial supersonic travel over land.

The nose cone of a supersonic aircraft reduces the shock waves that lead to the sonic boom. With this in mind, Swift Engineering designed the X-59’s nose cone to be 35-ft. long, managing the aerodynamic pressure wave. While maintaining all structural stability, Collier’s HyperX software was used to reduce the nose cone’s weight by more than 25% by allowing Swift to remove layers of material and adjust ply-layup schedules and core panel thickness. The software enabled structural sizing and finite element analysis for quick changes to the design as needed.

Bill Giannetti, technical consultant at Swift Engineering, explained, “The Collier Aerospace software played a critical role throughout this high-visibility project to design, engineer and build the X-59 nose structure. At the outset, when the team from Skunk Works explained how important lightweighting was, I had so much confidence in the software that I was convinced we would remove 100 pounds from the nose cone. However, we surpassed that goal by achieving a significant weight savings of over 25 percent on the nose cone structure.”

“We’re proud that our software helped Swift Engineering meet the high expectations of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. The credibility of our solution and its powerful sizing and analytical capabilities were key factors in their decision to use our software,” added James Ainsworth, Vice President of Engineering Services at Collier Aerospace.

The X-59 cruises at 55,000 feet at speeds of Mach 1.4 (925 mph) all while creating a sonic boom of only 75 PLdB, approximately the same sound level as closing a car door. Success of this project will allow for air travel at about half the time it takes today.