Flow and Acoustics Simulations of a Supersonic Engine Inlet

An inlet for a supersonic aircraft engine was previously studied in a geometrically simplified form. The present paper continues that work and specifically investigates three-dimensional effects on the combined inlet and fan system. Three-dimensional flow, inlet components and viscous effects are studied for their effect on fan response and acoustics. Operating condition was identified as the most important parameter affecting noise, which is discussed in a companion paper. The details of the inlet geometry presented here are a smaller effect. Additionally, the results indicate that an axisymmetric two-dimensional computation is sufficiently accurate for some cases while a three-dimensional computation may reveal particular details.