A time-marching three-dimensional full Navier-Stokes code is applied to simulate the flow for a Mach 5 inlet experimental configuration using the data obtained in the 10-x 10-ft supersonic wind tunnel at the NASA Lewis Research Center. For the first time, a solution is obtained for this configuration with the actual geometry, the tunnel conditions, and all the bleed zones modeled in the computation. Computed pitot pressure profiles and static pressures at various locations in the inlet are compared with the corresponding experimental data. The effect of bleed zones is simulated reasonably well using approximations for the bleed boundary conditions and the turbulence model.
An experimental research program was conducted in the NASA Lewis Research Center 10 ft. by 10 ft. supersonic wind tunnel. The two-dimensional inlet model was designed to study the Mach 3.0 to 5 . 0 speed range for an "over-under" turbojet plus ramjet propulsion system.The model was extensively instrumented to provide both analytical code validation data as well as inlet performance information. Support studies for the program include flow field predictions with both 3-dimensional parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) and 3D full NavierStokes (FNS) analytical codes. Analytical predictions and experimental results are compared.
Supersonic inlets with external compression, having a good level performance at the critical operating point, exhibit a marked instability of the flow in some subcritical operation below a critical value of the capture mass flow ratio. This takes the form of severe oscillations of the shock system, commonly known as "buzz". The underlying purpose of this study is to indicate how Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) analysis of supersonic inlets will alter how we envision unsteady inlet aerodynamics, particularly inlet buzz. Presented in this paper is a discussion regarding the physical explanation underlying inlet buzz as indicated by DES analysis. It is the normal shock wave boundary layer separation along the spike surface which reduces the capture mass flow that is the controlling mechanism which determines the onset of inlet buzz, and it is the aerodynamic characteristics of a choked nozzle that provide the feedback mechanism that sustains the buzz cycle by imposing a fixed mean corrected inlet weight flow. Comparisons between the DES analysis of the Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMCO) N+2 inlet and schlieren photographs taken during the test of the Gulfstream Large Scale Low Boom (LSLB) inlet in the NASA 8x6 ft. Supersonic Wind Tunnel (SWT) show a strong similarity both in turbulent flow field structure and shock wave formation during the buzz cycle. This demonstrates the value of DES analysis for the design and understanding of supersonic inlets.
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