Design of streamline-traced hypersonic inlets based on two-dimensional curved surface basic flowfield

The rectangular and circular shape intake hypersonic inlets and rectangular to elliptical shape transition hypersonic inlet have been designed with the technologies of streamline tracing and varying section using an optimized two-dimensional(2-D) curved surface basic flowfield with controlled pressure gradient.It proved that hypersonic inlets with various entrance and exit shapes can be designed based on 2-D curved surface basic flowfield.Utilizing this design method,three hypersonic inlets with different entrance and exit shapes have been generated and compared with typical 2-D inlets under the same constraints.The numerical simulation shows that Mach number distributions and general performance for unconventional inlets approximate the basic flowfield at design point under the inviscid condition,which has the characteristics of 2-D basic flowfield that shock structure is simple and exit distortion is low.This kind of inlet has the roughly equivalent general performance.Comparison with typical 2-D inlet indicates that they significantly reduce the length of external compression portion,have greater flow ability to capture and demonstrate better performance at off design points.In conclusion,this design method is feasible and is worth being investigated further.