Axel Buck, Christian Mundt
DOI Number XXX-YYY-ZZZ
Conference Number HiSST-2022-321
During flight of propelled hypersonic vehicles, a strong interaction between the hypersonic flow around
the vehicle and the nozzle exhaust plume takes place. The interaction affects the entire structure of the
flow behind of the vehicle, altering both aerodynamic performance and stability. Generic slender vehicle
geometries with and without a propulsion element were analyzed numerically in this study. A nozzle
configuration that is flush with the vehicle rear shows a stable plume structure in hypersonic flight, but
experiences transient flow separation at low supersonic flight. A configuration with a protruding nozzle
element shows a large separation outside of the nozzle with unsteady separation for laminar flow. It
also shows a backward shift in the pressure center, strongly increasing the longitudinal stability of the
vehicle.