Air Intake
Air Intake
Air Intake
Acknowledgments
Air intakes have been one of my themes of work for more than thirty years, and are now essentially a permanent centre of interest. I would like to take the opportunity of this summary to give my hearty thanks to Jacky Leynaert and Pierre Carrire who taught this speciality to me at SupAro and were then my supervisors when I set out as a young engineer at ONERA's Aerodynamics Department. Without them, the Concorde would not have its air intakes and this paper would never have seen the light of day. 1. Introduction After many years working on mainly supersonic air intakes, it is important to make an overall review and present a few documents collected over these last thirty years. The reader may acquire some knowledge from this paper, but the author may also get some answers he has been looking for to understand certain choices that are made in designing and positioning air intakes. 2. Role of the air intakes Any vehicle with air-breathing propulsion needs at least one air intake to feed its engine so it can move. So the role of the air intake is to capture the airflow the propulsion (engines) and conditioning (radiators) systems need. They must do this in such a way as to yield the best
3. Constraints (Figure 1)
3.1 Flight Envelopes Air intake design depends essentially on the flight envelope of the vehicle considered, and this envelope is very closely tied to the type of vehicle itself. The first envelope concerns subsonic flight alone; and thus helicopters and subsonic aircraft, the latter of which constitute the vast majority of today's air transport vehicles. Then come supersonic aircraft, which have to cover the sub-, trans-, and supersonic domains. A compromise has to be found depending on how long the aircraft stays in each envelope in practice. The supersonic transport will call for a high optimisation in supersonic cruise flight, while air combat in high subsonic cannot be ignored for the Mach 1.5 air-fighters. For ramjetpropelled supersonic missiles, these are generally boosted directly to the supersonic envelope by a solid booster phase during which the air intakes are shut, so they will be designed only for supersonic flight. If reusable airbreathing space launchers appear in the coming decades, the air intakes used will have to cover an enormous operating envelope ranging from Mach 0 to 10-12, and will certainly have to supply several different types of engines in succession. A number of projects are on the drawing boards but nothing has been built yet.
Copyright 2002 by Grard Laruelle Published by the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, with permission.
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FIGURE 1
3.2 Flight Attitudes Flight attitudes vary widely from one vehicle to another. For all aircraft, the take-off phase with maximum thrust at a standstill has to be considered as well as roll-out on the runway, and without forgetting the possibility of dangerous crosswinds. Usually, ascent and descent are considered, and the cruise configuration is generally the one that is optimised. All the failure configurations having to do with the vehicle itself and its propulsion system must not be forgotten. For helicopters and vertical take-off aircraft, hovering flight has to be considered with possible astern and crosswinds, without forgetting the aerodynamic field induced by the rotor. For air-fighters and missiles, manoeuvrability is crucial in an extensive flight envelope with high angles of attack, yaw angles, and arbitrary rollangle for skid-to turn steering. And do not forget negative angles of incidence in steep dives. 3.3 Discretion The most common form of discretion, which especially applies to helicopters and transport aircraft, concerns acoustics. The standing international regulations must be complied with, and these are becoming more and more severe. To do this, we can work on the internal profile of the air intake to create a quasi-sonic flow at the entrance, which will prevent the engine noise from coming out through the air intake. Perforated walls equipped with acoustic materials complement this treatment.
The first generations of air intakes were always designed in accordance with performance objectives, such as thrust, weight, and cost. For a few years now, it is essential that air intakes have a low radar signature for military applications. Actually, if this parameter were not taken into account, the air intake would constitute a very large share of the vehicle's overall signature. This problem will be dealt with more precisely in section 8. For certain military applications, notably for helicopters, a low infrared signature is needed. But this problem generally concerns the nozzle more than it does the air intake. 3.4 Special Conditions Air intakes are faced with many special conditions in flight. Bird capture will call for structural reinforcements, and the absorption of various debris from the ground can be countered by a pivoting grid (as in the Su 27) to deviate them and then trap them by closing once in flight. Sand and snow can also be trapped by grids or deflectors (Super Puma). Air intake position should be determined in light of the presence of hot air (from helicopter radiator) or combustion gases (aircraft thrust reverses, astern wind in hovering flight, missile plumes and gun gases). If there is gunfire, the possibility of unsteady flows due to the passage of waves induced by exit gases should be checked. For airborne missiles or those boosted by solid boosters, the air intakes are generally completely or partially shut during these phases of flight to avoid instabilities and drag.
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FIGURE 2
3.5 Design With all of the constraints, which are generally aerodynamic, air intakes can be designed which will of course have to be as light as possible despite the internal loads, which may be steady or unsteady (as in buzz), thermal behaviour for vehicles in high supersonic flight, and treatments (ferrites) for radar discretion. Air intake design and position depend strongly on the vehicle's steering mode (bank-to-turn or skid-to-turn type). Insofar as possible, the air intake is to be simple and of fixed geometry to ensure rustic operation of the propulsion system and minimum design, manufacturing, and maintenance costs. This is what will lead to highly operational vehicles. Variable geometry will be needed either for high performance or operation over a broad flight envelope. Transitory regimes then need to be analysed and, technologically, sealing will have to be provided.
- first, it deviates the boundary layer, which is the local external flow, to either side of the intake; - then, by entraining the vortices, it introduces the higher flow into the intake, which has greater energy than the boundary layer. These intakes have very low drag and excellent Radar Cross-Section and, since they are long, they have low distortion. As disadvantages, they take up much more internal space and are extremely sensitive to the vehicle's attitude. They are generally used more for conditioning vehicles (Airbus A320, Fig.3) than for supplying aircraft propulsion systems (XF 93). Their stealth aspects are very important for new projects. Pilot type air intakes are very simple and more common. The principle is to place a tube in the wind and capture the upstream total pressure These are the best subsonic air intakes, and they are not very sensitive to angle of attack or yaw angle either. They come in widely varied forms, such as the square one for the Anglo-French Jaguar. 4.2 Design (Figure 2) The aerodynamic profile of these air intakes is defined by iteration optimising the internal profile for no separation may occur during take-off (standstill, roll-out, or crosswind) to provide maximum thrust, and the external profile should not separate either, to minimise the drag in cruise phase. For flight at high angles of attack, which is to be considered for fighters, special care is needed for the leading edges. Mobile elements are sometimes needed (EuroFighter, figure 9) to open the capture cross-section and achieve a better orientation with respect to the upstream flow.
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FIGURE 3
4.3 Locations (Figure 3) Air intakes can be found in many different positions depending on the application. They may be placed directly next to the fuselage, generally on the sides (Super Etendard). The lower side of the wing is obviously a good aerodynamic situation, but raises ground clearance problems. NACA air intakes are very common for conditioning (Airbus A320). The upper side of the wing, though it is not the aerodynamic optimum, is a solution for Radar Cross-Section (Global Hawk), for agricultural applications (Dingo), and for seaplanes. Aircraft engines are often mounted on the wing. The weight of the engines minimises the aerodynamic bending moment of the wings in flight at the level of their root in the fuselage. There are a few rare examples (VFW 614) with engines placed over the wings to promote blowing of the upper surface and decrease the landing gear height. In configurations like this, the pylon wake and thermal behaviour of the leeward need to be remembered. The commonest solution is to suspend 2/4/6/8 engines under the wings. The Antonov 225 is a good example of such a configuration, and we may note that the B52's eight engines have the particular feature of being grouped in pairs on four pylons. Some older aircraft had air intakes placed at the level of the wing root where drag is low, but this is not an ideal position from the viewpoint of structural, not to mention engine maintenance. In this configuration, one engine (Draken) or two (Handley Victor Page) can be found at each wing root. Since the Caravelle, designed by Sud Aviation, engines have been mounted on the aft fuselage. This configuration
allows better wing aerodynamics and places the engine noise behind the passenger cabin. It has to be checked that the wake from the wing does not interfere with the air intakes placed downstream of it. While the Caravelle had an engine on each side, other aircraft (IL 62) have had two. With the arrival of tri-jet aircraft, a third air intake had to be placed at the foot of the rudder. The engine can be placed directly behind this air intake to reduce the distortions, but this induces a diving moment to the aircraft (DC10). The engine can also be placed at the end of the fuselage (Boeing 727), which calls for a sharp S-shaped diffuser with distortions including the rotation effects of the two counter-rotating vortices induced. These solutions can of course be combined for multiengine aircraft. The Tristar, for example, has two air intakes under the wings and the third under the rudder, and note the 10-engine Soviet Ekranoplane (flight with ground effect over the sea), dubbed "KM" for the "Caspian Monster".
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FIGURE 4
It should be said, though, that the Pilot intake is an excellent compromise for Mach numbers of less than 1.5 because little pressure recovery is lost up to that point, and the permanent configuration is a simple one. The mass flow rate an engine needs varies considerably as a function of the Mach number. For aircraft flying between Mach 0.3 and 2, the upstream tube section (A0) is roughly the size of the engine entrance section (A2). For very low speeds though, additional intakes need to be opened to provide the engine with the flow rate it needs. Figure 4 shows intakes like this on the Harrier, which hovers, and the operating scheme of the Concorde's air intake with the opening of an auxiliary trap for flight at low speeds. For high Mach numbers too, the mass flow rate captured has to correspond to several times the engine's entrance section. The windward side of the fuselage is then used as a first compression ramp (Fig. 4 and section 7). 5.2 Oswatitsch Concepts Oswatitsch proposed two compression concepts for supersonic air intakes, having a theoretical pressure recovery of unity (not counting viscous effects). The first is based on external supersonic compression with a profile inducing isentropic compression (focusing the waves on the lip of the cowl), with the diffuser providing the subsonic compression. Many design difficulties prevent the construction of such air intakes in practice: - infinitely thin upstream ramp, - design for a given Mach number, - compression limit at the focal point (unstable configuration), - too much deviation at high Mach.
The second concept concerns internal supersonic compression, with the additional advantage of generating no drag. As before, a crucial problem prevents any practical construction: the air intake cannot self-start. 5.3 Realistic Air Intakes Again we find two families of air intakes, but with slight variants. The external compression is performed with low-intensity inclined shocks, limited to about Mach 1.4, so it ends with a normal shock at the level of the cowl. The profile is mobile, to adapt to the Mach number. The Concorde has intakes like this. Purely internal compression is abandoned in favour of mixed external and then internal compression. As the internal compression is more limited and is for lower Mach numbers (about 2), self-starting is possible. The American SST project had an air intake of this type. We may mention the possibility of translating the central body to adapt the intake to the Mach number.
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FIGURE 5
Note the presence of the internal boundary layer bleed to attenuate the interaction between the normal shock and the ramp boundary layer. From the planar 2D concept, we get also intakes that partially or even wholly surround the fuselage. The Russian SA4 Ganef missile followed this principle. The intake has to be very far forward on the fuselage to minimise the capture of the fuselage boundary layer. From the axisymmetrical concept, we get semi-circular air intakes (Mirage, GELA) or quarter-circle designs (F 111). Of course, there are also three-dimensional intakes. Two examples can be found in the Swedish works on missiles (with a double intake, theoretically to reduce the missile's attitude sensitivity) and chin air intakes based on the principle of an inclined nose cone to reduce the drag on the leeward side and to induce compression on the windward side where the air intake is. 6.2 Aerodynamic Field (Figure 6) The fuselage's aerodynamic field knowledge is essential when choosing the location of air intakes. The objective is to place the intakes in overpressure zones (on the windward side of the fuselage or wings) and avoid overspeeds (nose / fuselage connections and sides of the fuselage, for high angles of attack). Low-energy zones are
avoided in light of the viscous effects (vortices, boundary layer, and especially the leeward boundary layer because it is thick). 6.3 Locations for Missiles Missiles generally have one, two, or four air intakes. Where these are positioned depends on the steering mode, which may be of the bank-to-turn or skid-to-turn type. For skid-to-turn steering, a frontal air intake may be used (Stataltex), or four intakes, making a cruciform missile. These may be semi-circular (RRX5E), circular (probative French ramrocket model), or two-dimensional. In the latter case, two options are possible depending on whether the compression is initiated near the fuselage (ALVRJ) or far from it (French rustic missile). See section 10.3. For bank-to-turn steering, a plane of symmetry has to be taken into account, which is obtained with configurations of one or two air intakes. With a single intake, it can be under the cone (Matra ASMP project), under the windward surface (American project) or on the leeward surface (TU 141, ALCM). With two air intakes, they are generally two-dimensional and are placed laterally to the fuselage (Aerospatiale ASMP) or, to take advantage of the compression of the fuselage, at an angle of 90 to 120. Circular air intakes placed under small wings (MRAAM) limit the effects of lateral overspeeds.
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FIGURE 6
6.4 Locations for Aircraft Let us first consider air intakes that are essentially affected by the aerodynamic field of the fuselage. These are very generally on the sides. They are two-dimensional with a ramp to deviate the flow, either windward ( ig 25) or M laterally (Mig 23). This last configuration is very sensitive to high angles of attack because the air intakes are then affected with yaw angle. A classical configuration for minimising drag and aircraft weight is based on two semicircular intakes (F104, Mirage). In the same way as for missiles, these intakes can be located closer to the windward side (Rafale) but they still have to be separated enough to avoid interactions between them in case of engine failure. Continuing in the same direction, they are placed on the windward surface. Two two-dimensional intakes can be found next to each other (Eurofighter) with each supplying an engine, or a single intake (F16). We might note that the Walkyrie (an American Mach 3 class prototype) has two two-dimensional intakes together, but connected by the compression ramps. There is a Russian plane with exactly the same configuration. Lastly, let us mention the case of intakes on the upper surface with the F107's large air intakes which must not be too strongly affected by the fuselage, and the X3 configuration which was adopted to minimise the transonic drag, and not for purposes of manoeuvrability. Air intakes can be placed in the corners between the fuselage and the wing roots (F111 with quarte-circles, F18 and EuroFighter are two-dimensional). These configurations generally raise problems of evacuating the
fuselage boundary layer, which explains the large splitter plane on the F111 (see Fig. 5 and 10). The last possibility is an implantation under the wing to get the most out of its compression effect, especially with two-dimensional intakes. For four-engine aircraft, the intakes are placed in pairs, separated by a common side wall (Concorde) or by the compression ramp (B1). This latter configuration has the advantage of isolating the two engines if one of them fails. For the Concorde, this problem is solved by advancing the median side wall to prevent any spillage of flow refused by the failed engine, into the healthy one. Remember that the first prototype of the TU 144 had four engines side by side. This configuration provides little possibility of dealing with a failure of one of the two engines in the middle, and was quickly shelved in favour of a Concorde type configuration.
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FIGURE 7
stream (Kholod), much less compression is called for as the external compression is then sufficient and the intake pressure recovery is high, whereas the pressure recovery of the supersonic combustion itself is less than that of subsonic. The product of the two pressure recoveries shows the need for beginning with subsonic combustion up to about Mach 6, and going on from there with supersonic combustion. Mobile geometry is achieved in axisymmetrical configurations by translating the central body, but this provides no way of increasing the capture cross-section with Mach number. Among two-dimensional designs, a "Crocodile" intake has been proposed in which the ramp on the fuselage is fixed while a second ramp opposite it is mobile in rotation. The opening is adjusted as a function of the flight Mach number to increase the capture section and the amount of compression. The main fault with this air intake concerns the handling of shock wave / boundary layer interactions on the side walls, considering the high global compression of the internal type. This mobile geometry can be used to supply various engines in succession. In-dept analysis of the transitory regimes is indispensable. An example is given in figure 7. The last problem with these air intakes concerns their selfstarting. Large cuts are needed such as is proposed by Buseman. Operational application of intakes like this is yet to be confirmed. 7.2 Integration on the Vehicle The effect of the fuselage is essential for the integration of high-velocity propulsion systems. Figure 7 shows that this
is useful for the air intakes at Mach 2, but it is indispensable for them and the nozzles too, at Mach 12. A second major parameter is the vehicle's nose radius. This will condition the intensity of the nose shock through which the airflow captured by the intake will pass. Overall pressure recovery will therefore be directly proportional to that of the nose shock. Narrowing the nose, especially in the form of a spatula, is necessary but leads to thermal problems. We should remember another difficulty for hypersonic missiles which, considering their small size and high flight altitudes, leads to low Reynolds numbers and laminar boundary layers on the fuselage walls. The presence of lateral air intakes such as for the French Scorpion project induces very strong shock / boundary layer interactions. A precompression ramp had to be installed just upstream of each air intake to deviate the fuselage boundary layer and attenuate these interactions (Conf B of Fig 7). This device was operational only when a boundary layer trap was positioned at the end of the ramp to eliminate the effects of the residual interactions (Conf C). 7.3 Projects Figure 7 gives two examples of hypersonic vehicle projects. The IGLA undertaken by Russia is an in-flight test bench for validating scramjet operation under real conditions. Oriflamme is a French study of a single-stage reusable launch vehicle with air-breathing propulsion. This propulsion mode is relayed by rocket engines beyond about Mach 12.
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FIGURE 8
achieved by placing a series of blades in the diffuser and/or curving the diffuser duct (B1), which prevents the radar from identifying the turbojet installed in the aircraft. To reduce the point effect of the cowl, they are designed with broken lines and each element is electrically insulated. The frequencies transmitted diminish with the length of the segmentation (B2, UAV Project). 8.3 Vehicle Design Before dealing with the air intake, it is important to have a discreet airframe. Two approaches are possible: - have as flat as possible a windward surface, which leads to the flying wing concept (B2); - have multiples facets to avoid a continuous signal, which is a target lock-on criterion for the radar. This leads to the F117 concept with its nonlinear flight polars that are very harmful for flight qualities and pilot comfort. Using a fuselage like this and placing the air intakes on the leeward surface, we can get a vehicle that is discreet for onground radar (ALCM, F117, B2). Of course, this location contradicts the aerodynamic constraints. It can always be said that, if the vehicle is very discreet, it will not be detected and therefore will not have to manoeuvre. Aerospatiale's ASLP concept is based on this principle with an leeward surface air intake combined with a radar detector. If acquisition is made anyway, the missile no longer has to be discreet but its performance must be increased. It turns over and the air intake is then on the windward surface where it can be efficient. Electronics is also doing marvels by distorting the retransmitted waves, but this is very far from the subject of air intake aerodynamics.
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FIGURE 9
intakes with ramp to deviate the flow toward the fuselage. 9.2 Cowls and Side Walls To avoid these interactions with the fuselage boundary layer, deep cuts can be made in the side walls (Mig M31, Mig 25). The purpose of the side walls on two-dimensional air intakes is to ensure: - a two-dimensional internal flow, - the structural strength of the air intake. However, these generate at least two problems: - interactions between their internal boundary layers and the shocks from the ramps (critical for the Crocodile air intakes) - high sensitivity to yaw angle, which can be attenuated by appropriate cuts, but which produces mass flow rate losses at zero yaw angle (Concorde, SU 27). While the cowl lip is thick in subsonic flight, to create a suction effect that will minimise drag, it is essential in transonic and supersonic flight to have sharp lips to create oblique shocks rather than strong shocks that influence the air intake's propulsive performance, in addition to the drag (Concorde diagram). The side walls are also expected to keep the engines from interfering with each other if one of them fails. To do this with two-dimensional air intakes separated by a side wall, this common one must be extend farther forward (Eurofighter). Of course, this will not improve the sensitivity to yaw angle, which requires side wall cut as discussed before.
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FIGURE 10
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For air-breathing missiles, there are two flight configurations to be considered with the engine off: - when the missile is being carried by the aircraft, - during boosted phase by solid booster. For this: - a mobile element (ramp or central body) can be used to block the intake totally or mostly, during these flight phases, and then be set to its nominal operating position by a pyrotechnic device at the time of ramjet ignition (ASMP). - or an ejectable block can be placed in front of each air intake (LASRM), but this alternative is generally refused for reasons of safety for the carrier aircraft pilot. An entirely new possibility is coming to light for reusable space launchers. The first stage becomes reusable with the deployment of a wing and auxiliary propulsion such as a turbojet. The Baikal project proposes a Pitot air intake on the nose of the first stage, with a pivoting cover to shut the intake in the ascent phase. 10.2 Take-off and Landing The protective grid for roll-out has already been mentioned in section 3.4 (SU 27). The large need for air at low velocity may call for a mobile cowl to increase the capture cross-section, with a profile designed to avoid separation (EuroFighter). The American F15 goes beyond this: the entire forward part of the air intake pivots, thereby simultaneously modifying the captured air flow and serving as aerodynamic flight control surfaces. 10.3 Shock-on-lip Mach Number and Angle of Attack For two-dimensional air intakes, the mobile elements described above are used directly for flight at high angles of attack. If the Mach range is large, they are combined with internal variable geometry. One of the diagrams in figure 10 also shows mobile ramps to either side of the internal trap for the F15, and the regulation controls for the trapped flow. This configuration allows a large crosssection of passage at the throat in transonic flight, and good compression in supersonic flight. The other means presented in this figure have already been commented (section 4.2).
FIGURE 11
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FIGURE 12
shows the full-scale set-up used for the ASMP intake at the S2 wind tunnel in Modane. There are a number of drives for moving the ramps in order to perform the maximum number of measurements during the test, which can be as long as desired in this continuous wind tunnel. The side walls are equipped with glass windows to visualise by schlieren the internal flow at the level of the throat where the internal boundary layer bleed is located. The pressure recovery is measured with a rectangular rake. The obstruction is varied by two counter-rotating flaps, which have two advantages: - moderate control torques, - the flow is not deviated, so its homogeneity is of better quality at the level of the flow-meter. Another set-up with the same functions is presented for the development of the Scorpion air intake. It is smaller, in order to be compatible with the R2 Chalais wind tunnel. The motorised systems for varying the geometry are replaced by interchangeable parts, considering the brief duration (< 30 s) of the tests in this blowdown wind tunnel. 12.4 Internal Performance of Integrated Air Intakes While the above step is needed for choosing the type of air intake and its main geometric characteristics, it is entirely insufficient for qualification purposes, for which the aerodynamic field of the fuselage is very generally indispensable. In supersonics, just the part of the fuselage upstream of the air intake entrance plane needs to be represented. One set-up for the S2 wind tunnel at Modane has been diagrammed. This has been used on many occasions for missile development in the wind tunnel's Mach 1.6-3.2
envelope, a few examples of which are presented. Two other set-ups developed for blowdown hypersonic wind tunnels in the framework of the Scorpion work are also presented in figure 12. 12.5 Overall External Coefficients The external aerodynamics can be qualified experimentally only if the stream tubes passing through the air intakes are simulated correctly. The model tested at S3 Modane is mounted on a six-component dynamometric balance. The effect of the internal flow is corrected by measuring the captured mass flow rate with a sonic throat placed in the plane of the base. The air intake regime is in this case rarely modified in the course of testing, and is then supercritical. The regime is varied in the second set-up presented here because, for nose air intakes, this parameter significantly affects the overall external coefficients. The S2 wind tunnel at Modane is also equipped with a "six-degree-of-freedom" device to simulate a gradually varying missile trajectory in the aerodynamic field of the carrier aircraft during firing phase. 12.6 Cross-flows Crosswinds, and high angles of attack in general, lead to internal separations that must be qualified, notably with non-steady measurement means. This set-up designed for S2 Chalais is based on a suction device associated with a rake positioned in the compressor entrance plane. 12.7 Structural Strength The test presented was necessary for validating the structural strength of an air intake in wound composite materials. 643.14
References
Beheim, M.A. & Piercy, T.G. (1957) Preliminary investigation of a shield to improve angle of attack performance of a nacelle type inlet. NACA RM E57G25a. Berton, P. & Regard, D. (1980) ONERA ramjet test facilities. La Recherche Arospatiale, No 197. English edition. ONERA 1980-4. Billig, F.S. (1984) Ramjets with supersonic combustion. AGARD LS 136. Brown, C.S & Goldsmith, E.L. (1972) Measurement of the internal performance of a rectangular air intake mounted on a fuselage at Mach numbers from 1.6 to 2.0. RAE TR-72136. Carriere, P. & Marguet, R. (1977) Arodynamique interne des racteurs prises dair, statoracteurs. Cours ENSAE. Carriere, P. & Leynaert, J. (1959) Recherches sur les prises dair supersoniques. Jahrbuch. WGL. Champigny, P. (1982) Problmes lis larodynamique externe des missiles arobies. AGARD Symposium on the Aerodynamics of Missiles, Trondheim, September 1982. Comenzo, R.J & Mackley, E.A (1952) Preliminary investigation of a rectangular supersonic scoop inlet with swept sides designed for low drag at a Mach number of 2.7. NACA RM L52J02. Curran, E.T. & Stull, F.D. (1974) Ramjet engines, highlights of past achievements and future promise. Second International Symposium on Air-Breathing Engines, Sheffield. Faro, I. (1965) Supersonic inlets. AGARDograph 102. Goldsmith, E.L. (1984) Some aspects of engine and airframe integration for ramjet and ramrocket powered missiles. AGARD LS 136. Goldsmith, E.L. (1988) Subsonic air intakes. Weapon Aerodynamics Symposium, Royal Aeronautical Society, December 1988. Hall, C.R. (1974) A criterion for prediction of airframe integration effect on inlet stability with application to advanced fighter aircraft. AGARD CP 150. Hasel, L.E. ; Lankford, J.L. & Robins, A.W. (1953) Investigation of a half conical scoop inlet mounted at five alternative circumferential locations around a circular fuselage. Pressure recovery results at a Mach number of 2.0. NACA L53D30. Hayes, C. (1983) Aerodynamic characteristics of a series of single-inlet air-breathing missile configurations. NASA TM 84557. Hayes, C. Aerodynamic characteristics of a series of twininlet air breathing missile configurations. I : Axisymmetric inlets at supersonic speeds. NASA TM 84558 (1983). II : Two-dimensional inlets at supersonic speeds. NASA TM 85559 (1984). Jell, C.S. (1987) Air intake aerodynamics and operational and installation effects on missile powerplant performance. AGARD / FDP / VKI Course on Missile Aerodynamics. AGARD R754. Johnston, D.J. & Hunt, J.L. (1984) Mach 6 flow field and boundary layer surveys beneath the forebody of an airbreathing missile. AIAA 84-0233. Kremzier, E.J. & Campbell, R.C. Angle of attack supersonic performance of a configuration consisting of a ramp-type scoop inlet located either on top or bottom of a body of revolution. NACA TM E54C09. 643.15
13. Conclusions
Air intakes are necessary for all vehicles propelled by airbreathing means, whether they be aircraft, missiles, helicopters or, in the future, reusable space launchers. They will directly condition the propulsive performance (thrust, drag, weight, thermal properties, lift) of the vehicles in which they are mounted. They are subject to a multitude of constraints (Mach number, angle of attack and yaw angle, possible injections, discretion, engine failure, among others). The first step in air intake design is thus to "clearly identify all of the air intake's specifications". After a short phase in which the air intake is defined alone comes the phase in which the external aerodynamic field is effectively considered with its over- and under-speeds, vortices, boundary layers, transverse gradients, nose and other effects. The second step is thus to "find the best location for the air intake(s) and, if possible, modify the upstream part of the fuselage to improve the captured air flow". Air intakes have very complex internal flows, including sub-, trans-, and supersonic zones simultaneously. There are many interactions (shock/shock, shock/boundary layer, vortex/wall, corner effect) and they are generally combined. Many non-steady aspects are to be considered, and notably the buzz which is critical for structural dimensioning and operating limits. The air intake's matching with the engine that it supplies must always be ensured. The third step is then to "carry out some calculations, but use essentially previous experience (bibliography, personal knowledge) and wind tunnel tests at high Reynolds numbers". Air intakes must be designed by a "System" approach. Optimising them is a long and difficult process.
G. Laruelle
Krohn, E.O. & Triesch, K. (1981) Multiple intakes for ramrockets. AGARD CP307. Laruelle, G. (1978) Prises dair dengins supersoniques. Discussion technique ONERA. Laruelle, G. (1981) Comparison of various configurations of supersonic missile air intakes. AGARD CP307. Laruelle, G. (1983) Air intakes for a probative missile of rocket ramjet. NASA TP 77407. (Traduction de Prises dair pour missile probatoire de stato-fuse. Laronautique et lAstronautique, NO 98.). Laruelle, G. ; Sans, C. & Lefebvre, R. (1984) Interest of internal bleed for a two-dimensional air intake operating in a wide Mach number range (1.8 3). AGARD CP365. Laruelle, G. (1985) Synthesis of aerodynamic studies of air intakes of a highly manoeuvring missile at high Mach numbers. Seventh International Symposium on AirBreathing Engines, Beijing, September 1985. Laruelle, G. (1987) Air intakes for supersonic missile, design criteria and development. Eighth International Symposium on Air-Breathing Engines, Cincinatti, June. Laruelle, G. (1987) Prises dair de missiles supersoniques, critres de choix et mise au point. La recherche Aerospatiale, NO 6. Leynaert, J. (1962) Synthse de rsultats dessais de prises dair de rvolution et de rvolution adaptes Mach 2. Note ONERA. Leynaert, J. (1964) Engine installation aerodynamics. AGARD LS 67. Leynaert, J. & Masure, B. (1965) Quelques problmes dexprimentation de prises dair et de sortie de racteurs. AFITAE, Toulouse. Leynaert, J. (1965) Fonctionnement du pige couche limite interne dune prise dair compression supersonique externe. AGARDograph 103, Tullahoma. Leynaert, J. ; Brown, T.W & Collard, D. (1974) A study of the Concorde air intake in yaw. ICAS 74.50. Leynaert, J. (1974) Problmes dinteraction entre la prise dair et lavion. AGARD CP 150. Leynaert, J. ; Collard, D. & Brown, T.W. (1983) Enseignement des prises dair du Concorde pour un futur supersonique de croisire manuvrant. AGARD, Bruxelles. Leynaert, J. (1986) Fundamentals of fighter aircraft design ; engine intake and afterbody. AGARD FDP-VKI. Marguet, R. & Huet, C. (1968) Recherche dune solution optimale de statoracteur gomtrie fixe de Mach 3 Mach 7 avec combustion subsonique puis supersonique. Fifth AFITAE, Poitiers. Marguet, R. ; Huet, C. & Laruelle, G. (1976) Definition and performance of a one-stage rocket ramjet. Third International Symposium on Air-Breathing Engines, Munich, March 1976. Marguet, R. ; Ecary, C. & Cazin, P. (1979) Studies and tests of rocket ramjets for missile propulsion. Fourth International Symposium on Air-Breathing Engines, Orlando, April 1979. Molder, S. & Szpiro, E.J. (1966) Buseman inlet for hypersonic speeds. Journal of Spacecrafts and Rockets, 3, NO 8. Oswatitch, K. (1947) Pressure recovery for missiles with reaction propulsion at high supersonic speeds. NASA TM 1140. Piercy, T.G. & Johnson, H.W. (1953) A comparison of several systems of boundary removal ahead of a typical conical external compression side inlet at Mach numbers of 1.88 and 2.93. NACA TM E53 F16. Richey, G.K. ; Surber, L.E. & Laughrey, J.A (1974) Airframe / Propulsion system flow field interference, and the effect on air intake and exhaust nozzle performance. AGARD CP 150. Rosander, G. (1972) Development of aft-inlets for a ramjet powered missile. First International Symposium on Air-Breathing Engines, Marseille. Seddon, J. & Goldsmith, E.L. (1985) Intake Aerodynamics. Collins, London. Soulier, C. & Laverre, J. (1971) Use of ONERA / S4MA hypersonic wind tunnel for supersonic combustion ramjets tests. Thirty-fifth Meeting of the Supersonic Tunnels Association, Dallas, March 1971. Surber, L.E. & Stava, D.J. (1971) Supersonic inlet performance and distortion during manoeuvring flight. AGARD CP91. Thomas, A.N. (1986) Inlets tactical missile aerodynamics. Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics. Trexler, C.A. (1975) Inlet performance of the integrated Langley scramjet module (Mach 2.3 to 7.6). Eleventh Propulsion Conference AIAA 75-1212, Anaheim, October 1975. Valerino, A.S ; Pennigton, D.B. & Vargo, D.J. (1953) Effect of circumferential location on angle of attack performance of twin half conical scoop type inlets mounted symmetrically on the RM10 body of revolution. NACA RM E53G09 Webster, F.F. & Bucy, J.A. (1979) ASALM-PTV chin inlet, technology overview. AIAA 79-1240. Hypersonic boundary layers and flow fields. AGARD NO 30 (1968). Inlets and nozzles for aerospace engines. AGARD CP91 (1971). Aerodynamics of powerplant installation. AGARD CP301 (1981) Aerodynamics inlets, A bibliography - Chemical propulsion Information Association, APL MD LS81 - 30, December (1981). Tactical missile aerodynamics. Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics, 104 (1986).
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