Numerical modeling of the conditions for realization of flow regimes in supersonic axisymmetric conical inlets of internal compression

Abstract

The results of the numerical investigation of flow regimes in the axisymmetric inlets of internal compression at a supersonic flow around them are presented in the work. The main attention is paid to the determination of the ranges of the duct geometric convergence, in which a supersonic inflow in the inlet realizes. The investigation has been carried out at high supersonic freestream velocities corresponding to the Mach numbers М = 2−8 by the example of the frontal conical (funnel-shaped) inlets with the angles of the internal cone wall inclination δw = 7.5−15° under the variation of the relative area of the throat cross section. The flow structure alteration was studied and the critical relative areas of the inlet throat were determined, at which either there is no starting of the inlet in the process of flow steadying at the initial subsonic flow in it or a flow breakdown occurs in the process of flow steadying at an initial supersonic inflow. Numerical computations of the axisymmetric flow were done on the basis of the solution of the Navier–Stokes equations and the k-ω SST turbulence model.