Springer Nature Publishes New Book on Hypersonic Airbreather Design and Development

Springer Nature Switzerland published a new book on hypersonic airbreather design, identifying six airframe-propulsion integration types and citing the US National Aerospace Plane program as the most demanding configuration.

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www.springerprofessional.de

Industry impact

The publication reflects continued academic and engineering focus on airframe-propulsion integration challenges central to advancing airbreathing hypersonic vehicle programs.

Springer Nature Switzerland has released a first-edition book titled "Elements of Hypersonic Airbreather Design and Development," written by Ernst Heinrich Hirschel, Werner Staudacher, Mirko Hornung, and Daniel Kliche. The book covers design, development, and engineering issues tied to airbreathing hypersonic aircraft, with a central focus on airframe-propulsion integration, for which the authors define six distinct integration types. The most demanding of these involves a large aircraft carrying both lift and propulsion systems on its lower side, a configuration historically exemplified by the US National Aerospace Plane program.

Other topics addressed include the flight environment, design sensitivities, fuel considerations, aerothermodynamics, scramjet propulsion, structural and materials issues, and aerothermoelasticity, alongside persistent engineering challenges such as laminar-turbulent transition and joint modelling. The authors also evaluate experimental, computational, and in-flight simulation methods, and describe what they call the "second wave of mathematization," culminating in the concept of the virtual product, which they say has transformed flight vehicle design through integrated, high-fidelity simulation across engineering disciplines. The book targets students, design engineers, and technical managers in hypersonic vehicle development.