At least in a declassified format.
The big excitement, though, is that this will be used to refine the design of the new “quiet” supersonic transport.
I'm genuinely trying to understand so please be patient, I'm not an aeronautical engineer.
From the image, I don't see anything significant about the shockwave interactions. There is a small region of turbulence but that seems to be overcome by the shockwave of the trailing aircraft which shows increasing symmetry with distance.
“I’m genuinely trying to understand so please be patient, I’m not an aeronautical engineer.
From the image, I don’t see anything significant about the shockwave interactions. There is a small region of turbulence but that seems to be overcome by the shockwave of the trailing aircraft which shows increasing symmetry with distance.”
NASA is working on a supersonic transport that will have greatly reduced or no sonic boom. The intent is to accomplish that by making the various airfoils create shock waves that cancel each other out. Therefore, the interaction between shock waves and plume(s) is a crucial element. Computer modeling will be used for the design, and this will allow the design to be validated.
These were just normal aircraft (T-38 trainers) used as a proof-of-concept.
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-quiet-supersonic-technology-project-passes-major-milestone