Numerical Investigation of the Unsteady Behavior of a Hypersonic Inlet under Throttling

Numerical investigation of the unsteady behaviors of the hypersonic inlet caused by throttling was carried out by means of large- eddy simulation for a free stream Mach number 5.9 and the unit Reynolds number approximately 5.2 × 106m-1. Results have been validated carefully against experimental data. The throttling was caused by the plug placed near the exit of isolator. Two typical cases with and without plug are investigated. Various fundamental mechanisms dictating the flow phenomena inside the isolator have been studied systematically. The results of this study provide physical insight into the flow behaviors caused by the throttling.