HYPERSONIC PROPULSION INLETS FOR NASP APPLICATIONS

OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, IT HAS BEEN CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED THAT DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSATMOSPHERIC VEHICLES, SUCH AS THE NATIONAL AEROSPACE PLANE (NASP), WILL BE NECESSARY FOR A SUCCESSFUL SPACE-DEFENSE SYSTEM. IT IS ACCEPTED THAT THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF SUCH VEHICLES WILL RELY HEAVILY UPON A DATA BASE GENERATED USING CFD TECHNIQUES. ACCURATE PREDICTIONS OF THE FLOWFIELD/CHEMISTRYLEADING UP TO AND THROUGH THE HYPERSONIC PROPULSION INLET WILL BE ESSENTIAL FOR RELIABLE PERFORMANCE/EFFICIENCY/TRADE ANALYSES OF THE PROPULSION CYCLE. IN PHASE I OF THIS EFFORT, WE WILL DEVELOP A THREE-DIMENSIONAL NON-EQUILIBRIUM PNS SCHEME FOR PREDICTING THE EXTERNAL FLOW OVER TYPICAL NASP-TYPE CONFIGURATIONS. THIS WILL PROVIDE A RELIABLE PREDICTION OF THE FLOWFIELD/CHEMISTRY ENTERING THE PROPULSION INLET. THE BASIC SOLUTION ALGORITHM IS INHERENTLY STABLE AND DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY SUB-LAYER APPROXIMATION. IN PHASE II OF THE EFFORT WE WILL EXTEND THIS PNS SCHEME TO PREDICT AXIALLY ATTACHED THREE-DIMENSIONAL NONEQUILIBRIUM INTERNAL INLET FLOWS.