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Why a panel method?
Here in the AeroLab, we specialize in low-fidelity, potential-flow-based methods. We have found that we can leverage these to quickly and effectively solve aircraft design and optimization problems.
Panel methods are right up our alley. Based on the Prandtl-Glauert equation, they are orders of magnitude faster than CFD or even Euler codes.
Weaknesses of PAN AIR
PAN AIR is a subsonic/supersonic panel code produced in the 1980s by Boeing. It is still available and in use today. However, when working to predict sonic boom loudness for next-generation commercial aircraft, we found PAN AIR unable to handle the cases we were looking at. Some of the issues we encountered were:
Hard limits on mesh sizes
Archaic user interface and inconvenient mesh generation
Unrealistic flow property fluctuations
Our answer: MachLine
Multi-order Approach to Calculating High-speed Linear Aerodynamics
Unstructured incompressible, compressible subsonic, and supersonic panel method.
Lightning-fast Fortran implementation.
Straightforward user interface.
SLT, VTK, and TRI mesh handling.
Built for data visualization using ParaView.
Running MachLine
An overview for running MachLine and viewing the results in Paraview.
Additional Capabilities
Wake Generation and Relaxation
Automatic wake generation and relaxation (for subsonic and supersonic flows).
This research is currently being funded by the US Air Force and is performed in collaboration with Research in Flight.
Adjoint Shape Senstivities
Sensitivities of force coefficients to changes in mesh geometry.
Calculation of shape sensitivities in 5% of the time required by central difference.
Validated for subsonic and supersonic flows.
Effects of panel wakes included.
This research is currently being funded by the US Air Force and is performed in collaboration with Research in Flight.
Publications
Journal
Hoch, N., Bolander, C., and Hunsaker, D. F., “Application of the Adjoint Method to an Unstructured Subsonic/Supersonic Panel Method,” Journal of Aircraft, 2025, 15 pages, DOI: 10.2514/1.C038478
Hurwitz, J., Adams, S., Taylor, J., and Hunsaker, D. F., “Velocity Influence of an Arbitrarily Oriented Vortex Filament in Supersonic Flow,” Journal of Aircraft, 2025, 6 pages, DOI: 10.2514/1.C038352
Goates, C., and Hunsaker, D. F., “A Novel, Direct Matrix Solver for Supersonic BEM Systems,” Aerospace, 2024, Vol. 11, No. 12, 25 pages, DOI: 10.3390/aerospace11121018
Goates, C., and Hunsaker, D. F., “MachLine: Development of a Dirichlet-Based, Subsonic/Supersonic Panel Method for Unstructured Grids,” Journal of Aircraft, 2024, 20 pages, DOI: 10.2514/1.C037449
Conference
Goates, J., Hunsaker, D. F. and Goates, C., “A Unified Procedure for Velocity Influence Calculation Within Subsonic/Supersonic Linear Panel Methods,” AIAA SciTech 2025 Forum, January 2025, AIAA-2025-2829, DOI: 10.2514/6.2025-2829
Hurwitz, J., Adams, S., Taylor, J., and Hunsaker, D. F., “Derivation and Implementation of Relaxable Wake Vortex Filaments in a Supersonic Panel Code,” AIAA SciTech 2025 Forum, January 2025, AIAA-2025-2540, DOI: 10.2514/6.2025-2540
Hoch, N., Bolander, C., and Hunsaker, D. F., “Application of the Adjoint Method to a Subsonic/Supersonic Panel Code for Rapid Aerodynamic Optimization,” AIAA SciTech 2025 Forum, January 2025, AIAA-2025-1561, DOI: 10.2514/6.2025-1561
Houser, A., Goates, C., and Hunsaker, D. F., “Evaluation of the MachLine Subsonic-Supersonic Panel Code With Experimental Results,” AIAA SciTech 2023 Forum, January 2023, AIAA-2023-2250, DOI: 10.2514/6.2023-2250
Goates, C., Houser, A., and Hunsaker, D. F., “Implementation of MachLine: A Subsonic/Supersonic, Unstructured Panel Code,” AIAA SciTech 2023 Forum, January 2023, AIAA-2023-1898, DOI: 10.2514/6.2023-1898
2022 Applied Aerodynamics Best Paper Award: Goates, C., and Hunsaker, D. F., “Development of a Subsonic-Supersonic, Unstructured Panel Method,” AIAA SciTech Forum, January 2022, AIAA-2022-0403, DOI: 10.2514/6.2022-0403
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