Development of the propulsion simulator - A test tool applicable to V/STOL configurations

A turbine engine multi-mission propulsion simulator, capable of representing inlet/airframe/nozzle flowfield interactions for supersonic V/STOL aircraft wind tunnel models, is described. The propulsion simulator replaces conventional aero flow-through and jet effects models with a single model; flow field interactions modeled by the simulator may include close-coupled inlets and nozzles, non-axisymmetric vectoring exhaust nozzles, and forward canards mounted near the inlets and wings. Wind tunnel tests of the simulation system at Mach numbers up to 1.2 are reported for a model typical of a F-15 aircraft installation. The possibility of applying the simulator to advanced V/STOL design programs is also discussed.