Streamline Tracing: Technique for Designing Hypersonic Vehicles

The methodology for creating a large family of designs of streamline traced planar and axisymmetric inlets for hypersonic airbreathing engines is presented. The subject is introduced by a discussion of streamline tracing of Busemann inlet flowfields, which was the procedure that was used to design the Supersonic Combustion Ramjet Missile (SCRAM) engine. A brief synopsis of test results of SCRAM is presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the streamline tracing technique. The generalized model covers the complete range of flow fields from outward-turning isentropic spikes to inward turning inlets. The radial deviation parameter is introduced as the variable to describe the members of the design family. A variety of inlet shapes and vehicle configurations are shown to demonstrate the design procedure. Arguments are made to support the viability of engine designs based of streamline traces of inward-turning flowfields.