Book Description

Abstract: A numerical investigation of the flow in scramjet isolators has been conducted in an effort to determine the influence of cross-section geometry on isolator performance. Flow in axi-symmetric isolator configurations is compared with isolators having rectangular cross-section geometries. In this study, various combinations of inflow Mach number, cross-section area, and back pressure are specified as input data in the computational procedure to evaluate performance characteristics of the given isolators. The length and location of the shock train are generally regarded among key flow phenomena that influence isolator performance. This study shows that, for a range of incoming Mach numbers and different cross-section geometries, an isolator with an axi-symmetric cross- section performs better than one with a rectangular cross-section. This can be attributed largely to losses associated with corner flow in isolators having a rectangular crosssection. In general, the results of this study indicate that improvements in isolator performance are attained in isolators having axi-symmetric cross-sections and that improvements increase with increasing Mach number. The numerical results are compared with experimental data, and the agreement with the trends of the experimental data is most encouraging.