Novel integrated aerodynamic configuration with ventral and dorsal double-sided inlets and its performance analysis

Aerodynamic configuration design is a crucial technology for air-breathing hypersonic vehicles, significantly influencing their flight quality. This paper presents a preliminary exploration of a novel dual-inlet aerodynamic configuration design to broaden the design perspectives and achieve superior overall performance for hypersonic vehicles. First, a design method for a double-sided intake aerodynamic configuration is developed, incorporating the method of characteristics, streamline-tracing technique, and multi-segment leading edge method. Using this method, an integrated configuration with double-sided intake that includes a ventral and a dorsal intake is subsequently designed. Second, utilizing an in-house graphics processing unit-accelerated computational fluid dynamics code, the flow characteristics in the isolator of the double-sided intake configuration are analyzed. Third, the aerodynamic performance, longitudinal static stability, inlet compression capability, thrust-drag balance, and wide-range overall performance of the integrated configuration are assessed, alongside a comparative analysis of conventional ventral and dorsal intake configurations. The study reveals that the newly designed double-sided intake integrated configuration exhibits aerodynamic performance intermediate between the dorsal intake and ventral intake configurations, while surpassing both significantly in terms of inlet performance and thrust-drag balance. However, its wide-range overall performance is not ideal. This research provides a fresh perspective on the aerodynamic configuration design of air-breathing hypersonic vehicles.