Automated Design Optimization for the P2 and P8 Hypersonic Inlets

An automated design methodology incorporating industry-standard Navier-Stokes codes and a gradient-based optimizer has been developed. This system is used to redesign the well-known NASA P2 and P8 hypersonic inlets. First, the Navier-Stokes simulations of the original P2 and P8 inlet designs are validated using numerical convergence studies and comparison with wind-tunnel experimental data for the original inlets published by NASA in the early 1970s. Second, the P2 and P8 inlets are redesigned with the objective of canceling the cowl shock (and, in the case of the P8 inlet, the additional cowl-generated compression) at the centerbody by appropriate contouring of the centerbody boundary. The original inlets were intended to achieve these same objectives, but detailed experimental measurements indicated that a substantial reflected shock system was present. The choice of the objective function, which is used to drive the optimization, has a significant impact on the final design. Several...