Experimental Investigation of Vortex Generators on a Low- Boom Supersonic Inlet

Vortex generators (VGs) were experimentally investigated on a single-stream Low-Boom Supersonic Inlet in the 8x6 foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Four upstream micro-VG and six downstream VG configurations were designed and tested for the purpose of this work. The objectives of the test were to evaluate the effects of the upstream micro-VGs on the normal shock stability, evaluate effects of the downstream VGs on reducing the boundary-layer thickness, and determine overall inlet performance. Results are presented in terms of total pressure recovery, flow distortion, boundary-layer velocity profiles, sound pressure levels, and dynamic spectra. The results showed a marginal decrease in the total pressure recovery for all VG configurations. The upstream micro-VG did not have a significant effect on the normal shock stability. And the downstream VGs accounted for the majority of improvement in boundary-layer thickness.