Abstract
The airframe-integrated linear-spike nozzle concept applied to an external nozzle for high-speed aircraft was evaluated with regard to the thrust augmentation capability and the trim balance. The main focus was on the vehicle aftbody. The baseline airframe geometry was first premised to be a hypersonic waverider design. The baseline aftbody case had an external nozzle comprised of a simple divergent nozzle and was hypothetically replaced with linear-spike external nozzle configurations. Performance evaluation was mainly conducted by considering the nozzle thrust generated by the pressure distribution on the external nozzle surface at the aftbody portion calculated by computer simulation at a given cruise condition with zero angle of attack. The thrust performance showed that the proposed linear-spike external nozzle concept was beneficial in thrust enhancement compared to the baseline geometry because the design of the proposed concept had a compression wall for the exhaust flow, which resulted in increasing the wall pressure. The configuration with the boattail and the angled inner nozzle exhibited further improvement in thrust performance. The trim balance evaluation showed that the aerodynamic center location appeared as acceptable. Thus, benefits were obtained by employing the airframe-integrated linear-spike external nozzle concept.
Highlights
The concept of a long-range hypersonic air transportation system is considered to be highly beneficial for coping with the increasing demands for faster intercontinental air travel and transportation
The insights gained from the performance evaluation for the airframe-integrated linear-spike propulsion system adopted for the aftbody portion of the hypersonic aircraft are discussed and cover the following topics of interest: flowfield characteristics, thrust performance by the external nozzle section, and the trim balance
The airframe-integrated linear-spike nozzle concept applied for an external nozzle of high-speed aircraft was evaluated with regard to the thrust augmentation capability and the trim balance
Summary
The concept of a long-range hypersonic air transportation system is considered to be highly beneficial for coping with the increasing demands for faster intercontinental air travel and transportation. If the cruise flight speed can be increased, for example, to Mach 5, the flight duration could potentially be reduced to approximately 2 to 3 h. This reduction in flight duration is substantial and would have a significant impact on the industry as well as the air travel market. The airframe and the propulsion system of a hypersonic aircraft that has a waverider shape equipped with a scramjet engine must be designed together, as parts of the airframe will be parts of the engine [1]
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