Zhancang HU, Yiqi TANG, Zhonglong LI, Zejun CAI, Zhenqi SUN, Chengxiang ZHU, Yancheng YOU
DOI Number: XXX-YYY-ZZZ
Conference number: HiSST 2024 – 0037
As one of the key components of the propulsion system, the inlet must have the ability to work in a wide speed range and satisfy the flight requirements of different sub-engines. The inward-turning inlet, owing to its advantages of efficient compression, high flow capture, and small windward area, has become an important research hotspot matching the combined cycle engine now. In this paper, a design concept of the inward-turning TBCC inlet based on the two-stage compression basic flow field is presented. An inlet model is designed by this design concept within the working speed range Ma∞=0~4, which includes two working modes of operation: the turbine mode ranging from Mach number 0 to Mach number 3 and the ramjet mode ranging from Mach number 3 to Mach number 4, and with a transfer Mach number of 3 between them. In this work, the design concept is validated by numerical and experimental methods, and results indicate the inward-turning TBCC inlet has stable aerodynamic performance and flexible variable geometry structure. This design concept can widen the design idea of the inward-turning TBCC inlet and promote its engineering application.