Test Facility Design for Detonation Characterization Through Curved Rectangular Channels; Quieting the Sonic Boom 16 views

Forty five years after the Wright brothers flew for the first time, Chuck Yeager traveled faster than the speed of sound. This resulted in a sonic boom and introduced the world to supersonic flight. This was only possible through innovation and improved technology. Today, forms of ongoing innovation include a Rotating Detonation rocket engine (RDRE) and quieter sonic booms through NASA’s X-59 project. A RDRE is a more efficient method of propulsion compared to traditional methods, however it is a very complex system and has only remained as lab research. Through my capstone, we hope to better understand how RDRE works and create a modular and easier to assemble setup. My STS project focuses on the X-59 and its mission to produce quieter sonic booms. The success of the X-59 can signify the surmounting of one of the weak points that supersonic planes of the past faced. Fully understanding a RDRE technology can lead to supersonic flight being easier to achieve while the results of the X-59 project leads to supersonic flight being easier to maintain. The implementation of both of these technologies can lead to a strong establishment of supersonic flight where the issues that plagued past projects are no longer present. RDRE’s take a detonation wave, a wave that begins supersonically unlike deflagration which starts subsonically, and spins it around a circular section extremely fast. Currently RDRE’s are very complex to build, and our work focuses on making testing RDREs easier and more accessible. Rather than building an entire RDRE to test certain properties, we built a linear cross section with a modular curved section at the end in order to mimic the circularity of an RDRE. Through this we can examine how a more accessible test setup can help examine how detonation waves react to encountering curvature. Throughout the year, we were able to design and assemble a detonation test section and it’s supporting systems within our budget and design requirements. This led us to securing a spot in the Aerospace Research Laboratory at the University of Virginia to run our tests. Knowing that it is possible to test RDRE characteristics through simplified geometry allows other institutions and organizations to test RDREs more practically and therefore advance this technology more easily. The X-59 is once again tackling supersonic flight 23 years after the last Concorde retired 23 years ago. I seek to examine X-59 in detail and see what it is doing differently compared to Concorde and other supersonic planes. Understanding how it is approaching supersonic planes differently can shed light on how the project will continue to develop and the effects it could have on the Aerospace industry . Through the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Virginia, I have been able to meet a former project manager of the X-59 project. By interviewing him, asking questions about his experience on the project and reading literature he provided, I’ll be able to make connections and see what exactly the X-59 is doing to set itself apart. One of the core features that makes the X-59 different, apart from its theoretical ability to soften sonic booms, is how it is approaching the goal of successful supersonic flight. The X-59’s official mission is to simply investigate if there is a level of noise that people can tolerate for supersonic booms and therefore influence any regulation that currently limits supersonic flight. Unlike the Concorde, it is not directly jumping into commercialization or mass production in order to seek a profit or reputation. This approach lets it take more intentional steps and removes the overwhelming pressure to meet certain goals, such as stiff competition or financial. Given that the X-59 recently has its first flight in late 2025, it will be important to keep examining it as the mission progresses further and starts producing results

BS (Bachelor of Science)

X-59; supersonic; detonation; RDRE

School of Engineering and Applied Science Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering Technical Advisor: Chloe Dedic STS Advisor: Pedro Francisco Technical Team Members: Connor Green, Josiah Martin, Frederic Ramirez-Melenciano, Spence Hartman, Tyler Fisher, Alvin Kim, Brandon Dawson, Derek Liu, Jonathan Wang, Ryan Malatesta, Irion Thompson, Tyler Verry, Saif Rahman

All rights reserved by the author (no additional license for public reuse)

2026-05-09