Parametric geometry models for hypersonic aircraft: integrated external inlet compression

In this paper we are investigating a method for the design and integration of 3D externalcompression inlet geometries on parametric geometries of air-breathing hypersonic aircraft.We view the geometries as the first stage of a mixed compression inlet. The investigations arebased on waverider geometries generated with the osculating cones waverider forebodydesign method. The osculating cones method is further utilized to create a secondcompression surface before the inlet cowl, essentially creating a second waverider geometryon the underside of the forebody. This way, we achieve greater compression for the part ofthe flow to be captured by the inlet cowl using a geometry that does not require sidewalls(like 2D ramps do), and has a potentially larger capture area than axisymmetric inletgeometries such as half-cones. The integration method is explained in detail, validated andfurther examined with CFD simulations. Those include measurements of the sensitivity ofthe flowfield to angle of attack, sideslip and Mach number changes. A number of options fordesigning the downstream internal compression part of the inlet are also discussed