Distinctive features of the flow past high-speed flight vehicles with air-breathing engines on subsonic, transonic, and low supersonic velocity ranges

Abstract

The aerodynamic characteristics and distinctive features of the flow past hypersonic integral-layout flight vehicles with air-breathing engines intended for cruise flight in the atmosphere are experimentally investigated. The experiments were conducted on a simplified model designed with regard for the general principles of integration of vehicles of the class considered. The tests were performed in a wind tunnel over the Mach and Reynolds number ranges 0.6 ≤ M ≤ 4 and 6.3 × 106 ≤ Re ≤ 16 × 106, respectively. Balance testing was carried out, the pressure distributions over the vehicle surface were measured, and the flowfields on the model surface were photographed. The effects of mounting a nacelle and contouring the internal duct are considered. The effect of the corrections on the duct flow in the absence of jet modeling is estimated. The results obtained can be used as a basis for developing the aerodynamic configurations of integral-layout flight vehicles, for forming their thrust and aerodynamic parameters under full-scale flight conditions, and for testing computation methods.