Flight-Capable Self-Starting Scramjet Inlets

The proposed Phase I SBIR seeks to develop passive self-starting inlet technologies and extend inlet operability to a range of at least 3 Mach numbers. This development will be completed using GHI’s design and optimization tools and will be validated with the experimental testing of a self-starting inlet in GHI’s supersonic wind tunnel facility. Additionally, the program seeks to develop structural topologies and meshes for use with FEA thermal and structural solvers. Coupled fluid-thermal analysis will be demonstrated during Phase I taking into account advanced refractory composite material properties and manufacturing processes paving the way to coupled fluid-thermal and structural optimization during Phase II. Additionally, these tools will allow the survivability of hot-structure inlets to be determined along a prescribed flight trajectory. Following the success of the Phase I program objectives, GHI will develop a Phase II plan which will enable the goal of manufacturing and testing a near-flight-weight 1x-to-5x scale inlet. Based on our previous work experience and our current computational and experimental capabilities, the goals set forth in this proposal are well within our abilities. More importantly, this work will be of great benefit to the Air Force and to the future of scramjet-powered flight as a whole. BENEFIT: At the end of a successful Phase I and Phase II program, the GHI and C-CAT team will possess integrated aerodynamic, structural, and thermal design, optimization, and manufacturing capabilities for large scale hot-structure scramjet inlets. These capabilities will be directly extendible to include other major scramjet components such as combustors, nozzles, fuselages, and control surfaces. These tools will combine efficient CFD solvers, sensitivity solvers, grid and surface generators, thermal and structural solvers, and optimization algorithms into one very advanced high-fidelity design tool. In addition, the Phase I and Phase II program will generate a much broader understanding of the self-starting inlet technology and robust inlet operability, which we believe is crucial to the future of scramjet flight as a whole. Furthermore, the incorporation of coated Carbon-Carbon manufacturing techniques and processes into the design cycle will reduce both initial design costs and final production costs, and streamline the overall design-to-flight process from start to finish.