A Numerical Study on Flow-Through Model Design Considering the Internal Loss

Abstract

In this study, a technique was developed to design an inner channel of a flow-through model to imitate the flow around a supersonic inlet, based on one-dimensional design method. The minimum exit area of the inner channel was the output of this design under the requirements; maintaining the supercritical state at the inlet and reaching the sonic condition at the exit. Hydraulic diameter was introduced to include cross-sectional area changes induced by internal structure such as strut installed inside the channel. Hydraulic diameter was used when the frictional loss is predicted by Fanno line. In the design process, pressure loss induced by shock and friction was considered. Pressure loss estimation technique was verified through axisymmetric computation with constant-area channel and three-dimensional computation with realistic channel, which shows that the proposed minimum exit area satisfies all the requirements for a flow-through model with very small margin.