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Concorde
Concorde is the world’s only supersonic passenger aircraft. This
aircraft flies at more than two times the speed of sound. In 1962, the
British and French governments signed an agreement to develop a
supersonic transport aircraft (SST) and the plane was built jointly by
British Aerospace (Bae) and Aerspatiale. The first flight took place in
1969 and began passenger service in 1976.The Concorde holds many
records, including fastest crossing of the Atlantic from New York to
London in 2 hours 54 minutes and45 seconds as opposed to about 8
hours for a subsonic flight. A total of 20 Concordes were made, of
which 13 are still in service. British Airways and Air France fly the
planes. Each Concorde is young in "aeroplane years" having
completed about the same number of take-offs and landings as a 3-4
year old 737 and the same number of hours as a 4-5 year old 747.
This paper includes the special features of the Concorde from the
ordinary airplane, which enables supersonic flight.
HISTORY
The Concorde flies faster and higher than most commercial jets.
For example, a Boeing 747 aircraft cruises at about 560 mph (901 kph,
or Mach 0.84) at an altitude of 35,000 ft (10,675 m). In contrast, the
Concorde cruises at 1,350 mph (2,172 kph, or Mach 2) at an altitude
of 60,000 ft (18,300 m). Because the Concorde travels faster than the
speed of sound and almost twice as high as other commercial jets, it
has several features that set it apart from other aircraft:
• Streamlined design
Needle-like fuselage
Swept-back delta wing
Moveable nose
Vertical tail design
• Engine design
Engines built into the wing
Afterburners
• Main and auxiliary fuel tanks
• High-reflectivity paint
Streamlined Design
As any aircraft approaches the speed of sound (1100 ft/s, 343 m/s),
the air pressure builds up in front of the aircraft, forming a "wall" of
air. To punch through that wall of air, planes must be streamlined. To
streamline the Concorde, the following designs have been implented:
• Needle-like fuselage
• Swept-back delta wing
• Moveable nose
• Vertical tail design
Fuselage
Delta wing
The Concorde's wings are thin and swept back at an angle. Thin wings
reduce drag and help delay the formation of shock waves. But wings
can be made only so thin. The angling back of the wings, which
further reduces drag, makes them act as if they are thinner in the air
stream.
The big ogival wing is unique as is the fact that Concorde has no
ailerons, speed brakes, spoilers or leading edge flaps/slats. Concorde
has six elevons, grouped in three pairs, for pitch and roll. Concorde
also has no trailing edge flaps, but the elevons droop on takeoff and
for landing to create increased wing camber. The six elevons are
hydraulically powered and electrically controlled.
A Concorde in flight
(Wide, triangular wing structure and lack of
horizontal tail)
Supersonic flight
(Nose up - Visor up)
Subsonic cruising
(Nose up - Visor down)
Approach, landing and taxiing
(Nose Down - Visor down)
Engines
The location and type of engines on the Concorde's are different from
on other
Concorde in flight
(The engines are attached directly underneath the
wing without struts)
AFTER BURNER
Exhaust gases from the last turbine stage have a large quantity of
oxygen, which can support the combustion chamber of additional fuel.
If the thrust of the engine is desired to be increased without changing
the physical dimension of the compressor, turbine etc; additional
quantity can be burnt in a section of the jet pipe to increase the
velocity of jet. This process is known as reheating, which is done by
an After Burner. Reheating can also be used for a short time to obtain
increased thrust.
STABILITY
Classic solution is to rebalance the aircraft using the elevons but this
increases the drag (3)
On Concorde the rebalancing is achieved by a system of fuel
transfer, which makes it possible to readjust the centre of gravity of
the aircraft to match the aerodynamic center of pressure both during
acceleration when the c.g. moves back(4) and,
Fuel Tanks
The Concorde has 17 fuel tanks that can hold a total of 31,569 gallons
(119,500 liters) of kerosene fuel. The main tanks are located in each
wing (five on each side) and fuselage (four).
The Concorde also has three auxiliary or trim fuel tanks (two in front
and one in the tail). Here is what the trim tanks are used for:
So, unlike other jets, the Concorde uses fuel not only for the engines,
but also for aerodynamic stability.
High-reflectivity Paint
Because the Concorde moves faster than sound, the air pressure and
friction (collision with air molecules) really heat up the plane. The
temperature of the aircraft's skin varies from 261 degrees Fahrenheit
(127 degrees Celsius) at the nose to 196 F (91 C) at the tail. The walls
of the cabin are warm to the touch. To help reflect and radiate this
heat, the Concorde has a high-reflectivity white paint that is about
twice as reflective as the white paint on other jets.
HEAT BARRIER
For a plane of 202 feet length and 84 feet scale, with an area of 3856
sq ft, the surface of the meters being deducted, the estimate of
weight is185 tons. Approximately 50% of the mass will be devoted
to the fuel. It is seen that the remainder will have to be very light.
On this point, the engineers count on material chosen for the
structure and the coating: a refractory aluminium alloy named
AU2GN. It has only one defect: that to age a little quickly. But it
fights much better the ' heat barrier '. A Mach 2.2, friction will heat
the point of the nose with 356° F, the leading edge with 311°F, the
fuselage and the trailing edge of the aircraft between 284°F and
302°F. Taking into account the ambient cold at high altitude (-
122°F/ -131°F), the temperature of surface will be about 257°F/
266°F, high for traditional alloys. In the absence of AU2GN, it
would be necessary to employ titanium, but this metal is heavier and
also more difficult to work.
The AU2GN is not a ' prototype ' alloy. It is used already for the
paddles of engines at considerable motor mechanics.
FUTURE SSTs
The Concordes are undergoing modifications. These
modifications include installing Kevlar linings to the fuel tanks, to
prevent them from rupturing in the event that the wing is punctured,
and strengthening the wiring in the undercarriage
CONCLUSION
After more than five years of testing in wind tunnel, this real test
should have checked overall performances in flight of the first
scramjet, a revolutionary engine able to propel X 43 at speeds up to
Mach 10 (6,875 mph).X 43 is the result of 20 years of research in
the technology called scramjet (Supersonic Combustible Ramjet)
based on the principle of propelling by a supersonic combustion
ramjet engine