Numerical simulation demonstrates enhanced performance of modified conical forebody in air-breathing vehicles, suggesting improved aerodynamic efficiency.
To meet the integrated design requirements of the belly-mounted air-breathing vehicle forebody and inward-turning inlet, an integrated design method for the dual-stage compression inward-turning inlet (DCII) based on a conical forebody is developed, to facilitate subsequent splitter regulation. The parameters of a specific entrance in the forebody flowfield are adopted as the input parameters for the internal conical flowfield; combined with streamline tracing technology and the “dual-waverider” concept, an integrated configuration is generated. Numerical simulation results indicate that, under viscous conditions, the shock structure at the symmetry plane of Configuration 1 deviates from the design expectations. This discrepancy arises from the convergence of low-energy flow and the boundary layer. Configuration 2 was proposed by modifying the forebody shape to mitigate low-energy boundary layer flow convergence, achieving a mass flow coefficient of 0.95, a total pressure recovery coefficient of 0.51, and an outlet total pressure rise ratio of 26.14 at the design point (Ma = 6.35). At off-design points, Configuration 2 still maintains a high total pressure recovery coefficient while retaining both a high outlet pressure rise ratio and mass flow coefficient.
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Zhang et al. (2026) studied this question.
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