Novel inlet–airframe integration methodology for hypersonic waverider vehicles

Abstract

With the aim of integrating a ramjet or scramjet with an airframe, a novel inlet–airframe integration methodology for the hypersonic waverider vehicle is proposed. For this newly proposed design concept and for the specified flight conditions, not only the forebody of the vehicle but also its engine cowl and wings can ride on the bow shock wave, causing the bow shock wave to remain attached to the leading edge for the entire length of the vehicle. Thus, this integrated vehicle can take full advantage of the waverider׳s high lift-to-drag ratio characteristics and the ideal pre-compression surface for the engine. In this work, a novel inlet–airframe integrated axisymmetric basic flow model that accounts for both external and internal flows is first designed using the method of characteristics and the streamline tracing technique. Subsequently, the design of the inlet–airframe integrated waverider vehicle is generated from the integrated axisymmetric basic flow model using the streamline tracing technique. Then, the design methodologies of both the integrated axisymmetric basic flow model and the integrated waverider vehicle are verified by a computational numerical method. Finally, the viscous effects and performance of both the integrated axisymmetric basic flow model and the integrated waverider vehicle are analysed under the design condition using the numerical computation. The obtained results show that the proposed approach is effective in designing the integrated hypersonic waverider vehicle.