Numerical study of the performance of swept, curved compression surface scramjet inlets

The paper describes a computational performance-enhancement study in which systematic modifications were applied to a planar-sidewall compression scramjet inlet operating at an entrance Mach number of 4 and at a dynamic pressure of 2040 lbs/sq ft, and the performance of the modified inlet was compared to that of the original geometry by evaluating numerical flowfield solutions. The planar-sidewall compression angle was modified as a function of height using sidewall curvature and simultaneously employing both forward-swept and reverse-swept compression surfaces. The results of calculations illustrate the feasibility of obtaining enhanced performance via contour modifications of a baseline swept-sidewall compression scramjet inlet operating at an entrance Mach number of 4.