Inlet Design and Performance for Supersonic Cruise/Hypersonic Operation Vehicles

The inlet section of a high speed supersonic (Mach 2 to 5+) missile captures and compresses the free stream flow, slowing it down to subsonic speeds (through a normal shock) where it is fed into the combustor section. Through the use of design optimization and high-fidelity CFD analysis, CRAFT Tech and University of Minnesota are developing a new tool for high-speed inlet design that will evaluate the complete design space and allow complex three-dimensional inlet concepts to be produced. A key technology is multi-processor solution methodology to speed model evaluation. The plan is to start with a three-dimensional inlet concept that will automatically “morph” into different shapes which will then be evaluated using a CFD solver. The process is iterated to find an optimal design that will meet multi-variate design criteria. The significance of the innovation is that the tool will allow three-dimensional inlet based on inward turning (ray traced) concepts as well as hybrid mixed inlet designs to be evaluated and optimized while including complex physical processes, e.g., boundary layer bleed, shock / boundary layer interactions, and viscous losses. The final design will provide superior integration with advanced missile concepts with a high degree of confidence in its propulsion performance, thereby reducing the need for extensive experimental analysis and redesign.