Specialists from Zhukovsky NRC have developed an air intake design for a promising supersonic civil aircraft. The solution will help the engine operate stably in supersonic modes, where airflow can be disturbed by shock waves and separations.
The main feature is that the air intake was made unregulated, but its inlet was divided into 2 sequential braking stages. The first forms an oblique shock wave, the second – a conical one. Then the flow passes through a closing shock.
Engineers abandoned complex throat geometry. The inlet and throat received a smoothed teardrop shape, and the boundary layer control system includes an undercut of the upper part of the inlet section and a transverse suction slot in the throat area.
The undercut area is 20–35% of the inlet area, and the flow area of the suction slot is 15–25%. The length of the air intake channel is designed for 3–5 engine inlet diameters.
Prior to this, Zhukovsky NRC presented the design of a promising supersonic passenger aircraft. The project includes a swept wing, over-wing air intakes, and a twin-engine power plant.