Computational Design Study of a 3D Hypersonic Intake for Scramjet Demonstrator Testing

Abstract

Scramjets are hypersonic airbreathing engines that utilize the unique technology of supersonic combustion. The ultimate goal of developing such engines is to propel future space transportation systems safely through the atmosphere. Scramjets are dominated by highly complex aerothermodynamic processes that are difficult, if not impossible, to fully simulate with ground-based test facilities. Flight-testing is a means to overcome some of these difficulties, although current test programs can only provide useful data for a limited range of the flight envelope. Computational simulations therefore form a crucial element within the development and design of scramjet engines, combining all of the physical aspects necessary to extend small-scale ground-based testing to full-scale flight conditions.

Under DFG grant GA 1332-1, funding for an experimental test campaign of a complete scramjet demonstrator model has been secured. The testing will take place in a hypersonic test facility under real flight conditions at Mach 8. Prior to those tests, a numerical design study for various intake configurations was initiated, investigating compression ramp angles, side wall contraction, intake height and boundary layer bleed with respect to generated inflow for the supersonic combustion chamber. Because establishing stable combustion in a supersonic flow is a key technology to a scramjet engine, it is of extreme importance to guarantee certain inflow parameter for the combustor.