Numerical Simulation on Air Mass Capture Control of Hypersonic Inlet by Laser Energy

Mechanism of hypersonic inlet performance promoting by “virtual cowl” induced by laser energy is introduced, and the physical model of interaction between laser energy and shocks in hypersonic flow field is established. Through comparing results in this paper with the work performed by Macheret et al.(Princeton University) and analyzing effects of laser energy deposited in hypersonic flow, numerical program and the feasibility of model are validated. At Mach 6, with no laser energy addition, air mass capture ratio Km is 71.87% in this paper, while Km is 73.17% in the reference. Energy addition module can simulate the formation of shocks induced by laser energy, and the interaction process between laser energy and compression ramp shocks properly. Curves of mass capture ratio Km agrees well with that of the reference. Km is a little higher than data in the reference, but the variable trend is consistent with each other when laser power is 1kW. When laser power is 0.5kW, Km varies a little, and the peak value is 77.36%, which only increases 7.64%, while the value is 7.28% in the reference.