Investigation of the pseudo-shock wave in a two-dimensional supersonic inlet

This paper describes experimental and numerical investigations into the multiple shock waves/ turbulent boundary layer interaction in a supersonic inlet. The test model has a rectangular shape with an asymmetric subsonic diffuser of 5°. Experiments were conducted to obtain the visualization images and static pressure data by using supersonic wind tunnel. Numerical simulation was performed by solving the RANS equations with the Menter's SST turbulent model. The inflow condition was a free-stream Mach number of 2.5 and a unit Reynolds number of 7.6 × 10⁷/m. Numerical results showed good agreement with the experimental results. Based on this agreement, the flow characteristics which are often very difficult to obtain experimentally alone were analyzed with the aid of numerical simulation. The structures, pressure and velocity distributions, and total pressure loss of the pseudo-shock wave in the supersonic inlet were presented in detail from flow visualization images and static pressures.