Computational and Experimental Studies of a Low-Noise Aircraft with a Laminar Wing and Engines above the Trailing Edge of the Wing

The main challenge of developing modern commercial aviation lies not only in improving the safety and fuel efficiency of aircraft but also in reducing its impact on the environment, especially in terms of permissible community noise. One idea is to move the power plant onto the upper surface of the wing to shield the engine noise by the wing. Such a solution can lead to aggravation of the unfavorable aerodynamic interference between airframe elements, forcing the cruising speed to be reduced to the Mach number M = 0.7–0.75, instead of the more common M = 0.78–0.8. Solving the problem of unfavorable interference for low-noise layouts requires an improvement in the established design methodology. This paper presents studies on the methodology of designing the aerodynamic layout of a low-noise aircraft, which has two features: the engines are located above the trailing edge of the wing, and the wing itself has a small sweep χ_1/4 ~ 15° with a natural laminar flow (NLF), while maintaining the cruising Mach number М = 0.78. An experimental confirmation of the feasibility of this concept is obtained.