Theoretical and Numerical Analyses of Aerodynamic Characteristics on Shock Vector Control

Abstract

A transverse injection into high-speed freestreams is a significant principle applied to realistic engineering applications, such as drag reduction, fuel service in a scramjet combustor, and fluidic thrust vectoring control. Fluidic thrust vector control is quite popular for micro space launcher propulsion systems due to several advantages, including better control effectiveness, few or no moving mechanical equipment, and fast dynamic responsiveness. Shock vector control is a straightforward and direct method in which the secondary flow is injected from the transverse section into the divergent portion of the supersonic nozzle. This work conducted coupled theoretical and numerical analyses to investigate performance variations in a three-dimensional supersonic rectangular nozzle with a slot injector. To verify the reliability and accuracy of the research methodology, numerical results were validated against existing experimental data from the literature. Computational static pressure distributions based on the shear stress transport k-ω turbulence model matched well with experimentally measured pressure values. Five control parameters were investigated in detail, involving the nozzle pressure ratio, injection pressure ratio, injector location, slot length, and slot width. Critical performance variations were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Some useful conclusions are offered for fighter jet designers.