Comparison of Prediction Models for Sonic Boom Ground Signatures Under Realistic Flight Conditions

This paper presents a comparative analysis of simplified and high-fidelity sonic boom prediction methods to assess their applicability in the conceptual design of supersonic aircraft. The high-fidelity approach combines Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for near-field shock analysis with ray-tracing and the Augmented Burgers Equation for far-field propagation through a non-uniform atmosphere, whereas the simplified Carlson method uses analytical approximations for rapid predictions. The comparison across selected climb, cruise, and descent conditions for a supersonic reference aircraft shows that the Carlson method captures general trends in sonic boom behavior, such as changes in peak overpressure and signal duration with varying Mach number and altitude. However, significant deviations are noted under realistic atmospheric conditions, highlighting limitations in the simplified model’s accuracy. Common psycho-acoustic metrics were evaluated to assess the potential annoyance on the ground. The results demonstrate that while the simplified method is effective for early-stage design assessments, the high-fidelity model is essential for precise sonic boom characterization under realistic conditions, particularly for regulatory and community impact evaluations.