Modeling Carried-Based Aircraft Hot Gas and Steam Ingestion

"The hot gas and steam environment during launch of a carrier-based aircraft can impact engine performance by forcing operation at off-design conditions and by introducing fluid dynamical instabilities. The development of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) andthe need to characterize carrier operating conditions at launch demand the development and validation of a model that will accurately predict the ingestion of hot gas and steam into the JSF engines, and provide the information needed to assess theinfluence of these effects on propulsion system operation and stability. The innovation proposed here is to adapt for this purpose a verified and validated particle tracking model, LDTRAN, previously developed for the U. S. Army, thereby immediatelyaccomplishing one of the major objectives of this solicitation. This existing model will take as input the defined hot gas and steam environment on the carrier, and a pre-computed flow field around the launching aircraft, and predict the anticipated flowbehavior and field deposition pattern anywhere near the aircraft and more specifically in the vicinity of its engine inlets. Thus, the Phase I effort can focus on describing the carrier environment prior to launch, and setting the groundwork for theanticipated full-scale surveys in Phase II. The successful modification of an existing, verified and validated particle tracking model will guarantee success in Phase I with regard to problem solutio