NASA X-59发动机进气口的视图

NASA’s X-59 requires the use of creative and strategic supersonic technologies to control and soften the jarring sound that hits the ground as the aircraft flies faster than the speed of sound. One of these creative technologies is the placement of the X-59 engine inlet.

This visual is a closeup looking downstream inside of the X-59’s engine inlet where, later in the assembly process, the 13-foot GE F414 engine will be placed. The main purpose of the engine inlet is to condition or smooth out and slow down the air before it actually gets to the engine. Before the X-59 engine is installed, there will be pressure measurement sensors mounted to the inlet walls to help the team monitor the inlet air flow and flight test data for the X-59 aircraft.

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Usually, engines are placed on the bottom of an aircraft, but on the X-59 this section of the inlet and engine are mounted to the top of the plane. This way supersonic shock waves from the inlet and engine are shielded by the wing — one of the many ways that NASA reduces the sonic boom to a sonic thump. With the engine’s unique location on the plane in mind, the team conducts high-speed wind tunnel testing to increase confidence that the inlet will work as designed.

After proving the aircraft works as designed and can fly safely in the national airspace, NASA will fly the X-59 over several participating communities across the country to understand their response to the X-59’s sonic thump. NASA will provide this data to federal and international regulators to enable them to consider setting new guidelines for the possibility of future supersonic commercial travel over land.

Image Credit: Lockheed Martin

NASA的X-59需要使用创造性和战略性的超音速技术来控制和缓和飞机以超过音速的速度飞行时撞击地面的刺耳声音。这些创造性技术之一是X-59发动机进气口的位置。

这张图片是X-59发动机进气道下游的特写镜头，在组装过程的后期，13英尺长的GE F414发动机将被放置在这里。发动机进气口的主要目的是在空气到达发动机之前调节或使空气平稳下来。在X-59发动机安装之前，将有压力测量传感器安装在进口壁上，以帮助团队监测进口气流和X-59飞机的飞行测试数据。

通常，发动机安装在飞机的底部，但在X-59上，这部分进气口和发动机被安装到飞机的顶部。这样一来，来自进气口和发动机的超音速冲击波就被机翼所屏蔽——这是NASA将音爆减少为音击的许多方法之一。考虑到发动机在飞机上的独特位置，该团队进行了高速风洞测试，以增加对进气口按设计工作的信心。

在验证了X-59的设计性能并能在国家领空安全飞行后，NASA将让X-59飞越全国多个参与社区，以了解他们对X-59的音爆的反应。NASA将把这些数据提供给联邦和国际监管机构，使他们能够考虑为未来在陆地上进行超音速商业旅行的可能性制定新的准则。

影像来源：洛克希德·马丁公司