Abstract
The serpentine configuration is utilized in the multi-stream supersonic nozzle of the Adaptive Cycle Engine to improve the stealth performance of next-generation fighters. Compared to single-stream conventional nozzles, the multi-stream supersonic nozzle involves a larger number of design parameters and exhibits a strong interaction between the multiple streams. The serpentine configuration introduces a complex influence on the flow characteristics of the multi-stream supersonic nozzle, which presents significant challenges in designing high-performance nozzles. It is crucial to understand and effectively manage the flow features to optimize the design of multi-stream supersonic nozzles with a serpentine configuration. As a result, the effects of the serpentine configuration and nozzle pressure ratio (NPR) on the flow characteristics of the multi-stream supersonic nozzle were investigated numerically in this paper. The numerical simulation employs the implicit density-based algorithm and Shear Stress Transport k-ω turbulent model of the commercial software ANSYS Fluent. The results show that the shock waves and contra-rotating vortices are generated by the nonuniform main stream and corner vortices from the serpentine configuration when the streams mix, which lead to the decline of the aerodynamic performance compared to the no serpentine case. The mass flow rate of the main stream and tertiary stream reduce by 1.4 % and 4.2 %, respectively, and the thrust performance reduces by 0.35 %. As the NPR rises, the tertiary streams are compressed by the main stream. The mass flow rate of the tertiary streams drop sharply with the contraction of the actual throat area. The flow condition of the tertiary streams convert from the over-expanded condition of convergent-divergent nozzle to the critical condition of convergent nozzle. Due to the enlargement of the actual exit area for the main stream, the maximal thrust performance is at NPR = 7.0 instead of the designed NPR.
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