Established in their new headquarters in early 2024, Whisper Aero has transformed a former printing facility into a cutting-edge aerospace technology hub. This facility includes areas dedicated to research, development, prototyping, and manufacturing. At the core of their innovation is an advanced electric ducted fan (EDF) designed to replace traditional aircraft engines. Whisper Aero's patented EDF technology, featuring high blade-count fans that operate in the ultrasonic range, promises to be 100 times quieter and 20% more efficient than existing alternatives.
Whisper Aero is in the process of developing the Whisper Jet, a nine-passenger electric airplane that integrates 20 to 30 small EDFs along the leading edge of its wings. This design, known as distributed electric propulsion (DEP), aims to produce a cleaner, quieter aircraft with zero emissions. Simulations on the Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have been crucial in refining this innovative design. The company estimates that if electric planes were used for all U.S. domestic flights under 1,000 miles, aviation-related greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 40%.
Whisper Aero's CEO, Mark Moore, who spent 32 years as a NASA engineer, envisions a future where regional airlines operate quieter, more affordable flights using DEP aircraft. "The fundamental premise of Whisper Aero is that we are changing the objective function of the aircraft design from minimizing gross weight to minimizing the acoustic impact," said Moore.
To push the boundaries of their design, Whisper Aero turned to the Summit supercomputer, operated by the Department of Energy at ORNL. The computational power provided by Summit allowed the company to perform advanced simulations at speeds ten times faster than what their in-house systems could achieve. Vineet Ahuja, Whisper Aero's head of flight sciences, highlighted the impact of Summit on their work: "Using Summit affords us the possibility of expanding the scope of Whisper's design and analysis activities that benefit aircraft control and aeropropulsive integration."
The engineering team at Whisper Aero utilized Summit to conduct computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, which are essential for optimizing aerodynamic performance. With Summit's capabilities, the team could run complex simulations in mere hours, a process that would typically take a week on commercial systems. This rapid iteration allowed them to build and test a quarter-scale drone prototype, validating their designs with exceptional accuracy.
Whisper Aero's innovations extend beyond aviation. The company is also applying its EDF technology to create the quietest leaf blower on the market, along with exploring other industrial applications. Moore believes that their technology has the potential to transform various industries, from warehouse operations to environmental clean-up.
Reflecting on the progress enabled by Summit, Moore expressed his excitement: "What I'm really excited about is the speed of execution that Whisper has been able to achieve, thanks to Summit. We're already taking this technology and designing for commercial aircraft. Being able to move this technology more rapidly to the general public is really an exciting value proposition."
As Whisper Aero continues its research and development with the help of Summit, the company is well-positioned to bring its groundbreaking technologies to market. The future of quieter, more efficient electric flight is on the horizon, thanks in part to the computational power provided by ORNL's Summit supercomputer.
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Whisper Aero
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