Hybrid Opposing Jet & Stepped Transpiration Cooling for Hypersonic Leading Edges

Transpiration cooling has demonstrated exceptional potential in reducing aerodynamic heating for the leading edges of hypersonic vehicles. However, its effectiveness is fundamentally constrained by the inherent conflict between pressure-driven coolant transport and localized thermal load demands: regions experiencing higher surface pressures (typically associated with elevated heat fluxes) exhibit reduced transpiration in leading edges. To resolve this critical mismatch, this study proposes a hybrid thermal protection system integrating stagnation-region opposing jets with shoulder-region stepped transpiration cooling. The Navier–Stokes equations, along with the standard [Formula: see text] turbulence model, are solved by using a stepwise computational method. The results indicate that the synergistic interaction between the opposing jet and pressure-adaptive transpiration achieves cooling efficiency exceeding 0.94 at the stagnation zone, while maintaining cooling efficiency above 0.90 across the shoulder region. Additionally, it is observed that both increasing the coolant mass flow rate and the opposing jet flow ratio contribute to improved cooling performance. This hybrid cooling architecture establishes a paradigm for intelligent thermal management through dynamic pressure-thermal load matching, offering transformative potential for next-generation hypersonic vehicle thermal protection systems.