T Cain

Gas Dynamics Ltd.,

2 Clockhouse Road, Farnborough, GU14 !"
#am$shire, U%
tcain&gasdynamics.co.uk
ABSTRACT
Intake design for supersonic engines, in common with other engineering design problems, is application
dependent and the true challenges are in meeting performance targets over the required Mach and
Reynolds number ranges while complying with the multitude of constraints imposed by the aircraft/missile
and its mission. The fundamentals and limitations of efficient ram compression are well understood and
since !"!, #TI$, RT% and !&R!#& provide free public access to a large database of intake
e'periments conducted in the ()*+s to (),+s, the designer should be aware of problems encountered and
the fi'es applied during previous testing of isolated intakes. The outline of this lecture is a brief tour of
some historic supersonic intakes discussing the features that enable the intake to meet its requirements
and applying some reverse engineering to deduce how the designers appear to have approached the
problem. The tour is combined with an introduction to tailoring compressive flow fields by e'ploitation of
one and two dimensional flow elements.
1 INTRODUCTION
'here is an established (ormat (or lectures, books and re)ie*s concerning intakes, *ith a large section
allocated to ta+onomy, distinguishing ty$es by, the number and location on the aircra(t-missile. the degree
o( e+ternal and internal com$ression. *hether they are based on t*o dimensional $lane (lo*s,
a+isymmetric (lo*s, or are three dimensional. and *hether they are out*ard turning or in*ard turning.
'he (unction and design o( the su$ersonic di((user is then dealt *ith be(ore a discussion o( the subsonic
di((user. /ethods o( accounting (or, and controlling boundary layers are necessarily included.
'his lecture a$$roaches the sub0ect (rom a di((erent $ers$ecti)e, here *e are less concerned *ith intakes
in general, and (ar more concerned *ith the details o( selected intakes. 'he di((erence in a$$roach re(lects
a di((erence in $hiloso$hy, and teaching styles. 1 think it is easier to e+tra$olate and e+$and (rom a
detailed small study, than to imagine or rein)ent *hat has not been re)ealed in a general o)er)ie*. 2hould
a less (ocused a$$roach be $re(erred, there are good re(erences that are (ree to do*nload. Re(erence 314 is
a (ine e+am$le, summarising *hat *as kno*n about intakes in 1564, *hich is $ractically e)erything
kno*n about them today. 1t is not that *ork done a(ter that time is redundant, but since the ground *ork
*as com$lete, later intake studies tend to be either learning e+ercises (or the indi)iduals in)ol)ed, or are
(ocussed on an a$$lication and remain un$ublished (or commercial and-or military reasons.
Fortunately *ith the ela$se o( time and the retirement o( aircra(t and missiles, the sensiti)ity o( the a$$lied
design *ork reduces, and some details enter the $ublic domain. Consistent *ith the $ers$ecti)e outlined
abo)e, this lecture takes ad)antage o( the in(ormation a)ailable on historic intakes and dra*s conclusions
regarding the design a$$roach taken. 7( $articular interest are the (eatures that enable the intake to
(unction o)er the range o( /ach numbers and the angles o( attack to *hich it *as sub0ected. 'here is
considerable risk that some o( these conclusions are erroneous but the conse8uences o( a misinter$retation
are small, the aim is not to recreate the system, but to e+$lore the design dri)ers and the res$onse to them.
1( 1 ha)e dra*n the *rong conclusions, 1 a$ologise to the designers (or misre$resenting their creations, but

RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 1


Ramjet Intakes
at least 1 should still ha)e succeeded in introducing the $roblems to be addressed and the elements that are
the keys to the solution.
2 TROMMSDORFF RAMJETS
2.1 Mach 4
+
amjet !"#ee$ %&i'ht $(in' ))2
'rommsdor((9s ram0et $o*ered $ro0ectiles made the *orld9s (irst su$ersonic air:breathing (lights. ;bout
26< o( the e+$erimental 1=cm diameter > series, (igure 1, *ere (ired (rom a gun *ith mu??le )elocities o(
about 1<<<m-s, accelerating to 146<m-s during a @.2s burn. 'rommsdor((9s modestly *ritten, detailed
account o( their de)elo$ment 324, is unclassi(ied but un(ortunately rather di((icult to obtain, and his *ork
has not recei)ed the recognition it deser)es. #e *as (ortunate to be able to call u$on the %aiser:Ailhelm:
1nstitute in Gottingen and the 1nstitute (or ;erodynamics in Braunsch*eig (or ad)ice on intakes, gas
dynamics and combustion. ;t the (irst he consulted *ith Crandtl, Bet?, Lud*ieg, and 7s*atitsch and at
the second *ith Busemann, 2chmidt and Damkohler. /ost researchers in gas dynamics *ill be (amiliar
*ith those names and *ill a$$reciate 'rommsdor(( could not ha)e been better ad)ised.
Figure 1: Trommsdorff projectiles, the 28cm calibre, diesel fuelled C3 (top) and the 15cm calibre,
CS2 fuelled E4.(bottom). The original version of this figure was published by the Advisory Group
for Aerospace Research and Development, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (AGARD/NATO)
for Trommsdorff [2].
'he 1<kg C@ *as designed to be (ired (rom the German %= gun at 122@m-s, accelerate to 1D6<m-s, and
then co)er a distance o( @=<km in (ree ballistic (light. 'he *ar ended, and 'rommsdor( *as taken to
Russia be(ore the C@ could be tested. ;(ter his release and return to Germany, 'rommsdor( re$orted that
the C@ achie)ed the calculated $er(ormance *hen tested else*here 324.
2.2 Os#atitsch*s intake eseach
7s*atitsch is no* synonymous *ith the multi$le shock e+ternal com$ression intakes o( the ty$e e+hibited
abo)e and Busemann *ith all internal com$ression intakes $articularly those utilising isentro$ic
com$ression based on a conical (lo* Ea one dimensional (lo*, *ith $ro$erties being only a (unction o( the
angle (rom the )erte+F the e+istence o( *hich he hy$othesised and $ro)ed. 'he di((erential (orm o( the
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 2 RTO-EN-AVT-185


e8uations that describe such (lo*s *ere (ormulated and $ublished by 'aylor and /acoll *ith re(erence to
Busemann.
'here is a limit to internal contraction abo)e *hich an intake *ill not start, and instead (lo* *ill s$ill
around the co*l *ith the amount entering the engine sim$ly set by choked (lo* through the intake throat
as determined by stagnation conditions do*nstream o( a normal shock standing in (ront o( the co*l. 'his
limit, no* kno*n as the %antro*it? limit, *as (irst de(ined by 7s*atitsch in the study he made (or
'rommsdor((. ; translation o( his re$ort is a)ailable as re(erence 3@4 and it also contains the $roo( o( the
result (or *hich he is best kno*n, shocks o( a multi shock di((user should ha)e e8ual strength (or
ma+imum $ressure reco)ery. 7ne does not need a mathematical $roo( to understand this result, it is due to
the (act that entro$y rise increases ra$idly *ith the tem$erature ratio across a shock and i( t*o shocks
*ithin a se8uence did not ha)e the same tem$erature ratio the entro$y gain o)er the stronger shock *ill
out*eigh the decreased rise on the *eaker shock *hen the (lo* is com$ressed to the same /ach number.
Figure 2: Oswatitsch's optimal multi-shock intake parameters as a function of flight Mach
number
7s*atitsch9s o$timal intake ram$ angles are most easily (ound using his $rocedure, *hich starts *ith the
/ach number u$stream o( the terminal normal shock. U$stream obli8ue shocks all ha)e this normal
com$onent o( /ach number and one can determine a corres$onding (reestream /ach number by sim$ly
ste$$ing u$stream through the chosen number o( shocks. Results (rom this calculation are $resented in
(igure 2. 'here are three $oints to note (rom the (igure, ;t /ach numbers abo)e three, $ressure ratio
across each shock is relati)ely high and in most cases *ould be su((icient to se$arate the boundary layer.
total de(lection o( the t*o and three ram$ intakes is )ery high and unless the de(lections are in o$$osite
sense *hich im$lies internal com$ression, the co*l *ill be at a stee$ angle im$lying high drag. successi)e
de(lections increase in magnitude, some*hat like C@ in (igure 1 and unlike >4.
7s*atitsch e+$erimented *ith a biconic intake at /ach 2.5 3@4, e+$loring and de(ining su$er and
subcritical o$eration Estarted and unstarted in today9s $arlanceF, bu?? Ethe noise (rom (lo* $ulsation during
unstable subcritical o$erationF, subsonic di((user losses, and the e((ect o( boundary layer bleed and angle
o( attack. Concerns o)er sel(:starting, co*l drag, and (lo* stability, immediately relegated his shock
strength o$timisation to the role o( guidance. From the beginning, the choice o( intake ram$ angles (or a
ram0et *as kno*n to be in(luenced by much more than 0ust shock losses.
1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
M
p
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

r
a
t
i
o
1 shock
2 shock
3 shock
1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
M
t
o
t
a
l

d
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n
,

d
e
g
1 shock
2 shock
3 shock
2 raps
1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
M
d
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n
,

d
e
g
2nd shock
1st shock
3 raps
1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
M
d
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n
,

d
e
g
3rd shock
2nd shock
1st shock
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 3


2.+ The E4 intake %&"# %ie&$
'o e+$lore the design dri)ers and the resulting >4 intake, (igure 1 is assumed dra*n to scale and the
su$ersonic di((user (lo* calculated using the /ethod o( Characteristics E/7CF. 'he calculation is
rotational Eallo*s (or the )ariation in entro$y throughout the (lo* (ieldF and assumes a+ial symmetry.
Figure 3: MOC solutions for the E4 19.5/30.5biconic intake
Blue lines in (igure @ de(ine the biconic sur(ace and the co*l li$. Red lines are the calculated shocks, the
one (rom the leading edge being straight and the one originating at the cone 0unction is cur)ed as it
$ro$agates through the conical (lo* o)er the u$stream cone. 'he green line traces the streamline that
interce$ts the co*l li$. 'he light blue lines are the characteristic mesh )ia *hich the (lo*(ield solution has
been de)elo$ed. 'hese characteristics are /ach lines *ithin the (lo*, running both to the le(t and right o(
a streamline at the local /ach angle. 'he right runners are directed in*ards, to*ards the centreline, in this
solution and the le(t runners are $ro$agating out*ards, as are the shocks. 'he com$atibility relations that
hold at the intersection o( the le(t and right runners enable the (lo*(ield to be de(ined in a ste$*ise $rocess
that com$letes in less than a second on a mediocre $ersonal com$uter.
Gote that in this solution *e are not yet concerned *ith the internal (lo* and the interaction *ith the co*l.
'he characteristics ha)e been de)elo$ed as i( the co*l *as not $resent. ;t the mu??le )elocity EMH2.52F
the t*o shocks merge abo)e the li$ and their interaction has no e((ect on the ca$tured (lo*. /id:
acceleration EMH@.=F the shock interaction generates an e+$ansion (an that enters the intake. 'he tri$le
$oint de(ined by the intersecting cone shocks and the resulting strong shock, sets a limit to the amount o(
e+ternal com$ression that can be obtained. Ahen the de(lection is too high, such that the (lo* is subsonic
behind the strong shock, its $osition *ill de$end on do*nstream conditions and the (lo*(ield generally
becomes unstable. Charts that de(ine limits to e+ternal com$ression set by the tri$le $oint beha)iour, are
$resented in re(erence 1.
;t the $eak /ach number o( 4.2=, (lo* that has $assed through the single shock is entering the intake.
'his is normally regarded as )ery undesirable because the stagnation $ressure o( the (lo* on the strong
shock side o( the sli$ line Ethe streamline emanating (rom the tri$le $ointF is much less than that o( the
(lo* that has $assed through t*o shocks. Ahether this truly is a $roblem is de$endent on *hat back
$ressure is being a$$lied to the intake Eby the combustorF *hen it is in this state. 1( this is in e+cess o( the
the lo*est stagnation $ressure then one is reliant on mi+ing bet*een the t*o streams, *ithin the isolator,
0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
!0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
!0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
M=2.92
M=3.5
M=4.25
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 4 RTO-EN-AVT-185


in order (or the higher entro$y air to $ass. 'he back $ressure must al*ays be less than that obtainable by
stagnating the mi+ed (lo* and ho* this is calculated is demonstrated in the ne+t section, be(ore returning
to a discussion o( the >4 intake design.
2.4 Steam th(st an$ ,e-ta t" sh"ck &"sses.
/ost su$ersonic di((users $roduce non uni(orm (lo*s, either as a result o( skin (riction creating boundary
layers, or non uni(orm com$ression such as that $roduced by a conical com$ression sur(ace. 'he >4 intake
at /ach 4.2= is a rather e+treme e+am$le, *ith non:uni(ormity inherent in the com$ression on the (irst
cone Ealthough the straight shock guarantees uni(orm entro$y increase, the streamlines near the sur(ace
ha)e been sub0ect to isentro$ic com$ression *ithin the shock layer as they are turned to be asym$totically
$arallel *ith the sur(aceF, a resulting cur)ed shock leading to the second cone, and most signi(icantly the
single strong shock to the (lo* abo)e the sli$ line.
Iarious methods ha)e been suggested to account (or the non:uni(ormities on di((user $er(ormance, but
only one is rigorous, and not reliant on em$irical correction. Ayatt 344 is credited *ith a$$lying basic
thermodynamics to the intake $roblem and (irst arguing that the e8ui)alent one dimensional (lo* is that
*ith the same stream thrust, mass (lo*, and total enthal$y as the integrated non:uni(orm (lo*. 'he
some*hat mystical Je+tra to shock lossesK *hich are so o(ten modelled em$irically are re)ealed and
8uanti(ied by this method.
Figure 4: Supersonic diffuser control volume
Consider the control )olume o( (igure 4, the conser)ation o( mass, a+ial momentum and energy re8uire,

<
u
<
!
<
=
1
u
1
!
1
314
p
<
!
<
m
1
u
<
-
p
-
w
= p
1
!
1
cos m
1
u
1
cos=-
1
cos
324
h
<
u
<
2
/ 2 = h
1
u
1
2
/ 2 3@4
*here, ., u, !, p, /, m and h are density, )elocity, area Enormal to uF, $ressure, stream angle, mass (lo*,
and enthal$y res$ecti)ely. 'he area at the out(lo* boundary is dra*n normal to the internal co*l $ro(ile
and intersects the shoulder. 'he a+ial momentum balance described by e8uation 2, de(ines the stream
thrust -
(
at the out(lo* boundary. 'he energy balance described by e8uation @, could ha)e included the
heat loss to the *all, but that is not essential (or the $ur$ose o( this discussion. Gote that *all stress is
included *ithin the *all (orce -
w
and its e((ect on -
(
is indistinguishable (rom $ressure drag. 'he ideal
intake is the one *ith the lo*est $ossible drag (or a gi)en contraction as this ma+imises stream thrust -
(
.
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 5


'he $re:entry (orce -
p
has a $ositi)e in(luence on -
(
but the sum o( -
p
and -
w
*ill al*ays be in the
direction o( -
w
and has a minimum )alue set by the drag re8uired (or isentro$ic com$ression to the same
contraction ratio. 1n the case dra*n -
p
includes the a+ial (orce (rom 0ust inside the co*l li$, but the
e+ternal com$onent is e8ui)alent to the intakes $re:entry Eor additi)eF drag. 2hould one *onder *here
$re:entry drag acts on the air(rame, it is an e+cess in -
w
.
Ahen s$eci(ic heat is constant, e8uations 1 to @ reduce to the 8uadratic,
1

u
1
u
<

-
1
q
<
!
<
u
1
u
<

2
M
<
2

=< 344
*here q
<
and M
<
are the (ree stream dynamic $ressure and /ach number res$ecti)ely. Gote that the stream
thrust at the isolator entrance E-
(
F is the only $arameter that distinguishes one intake (rom another in
e8uation 4. 1ts )alue is calculated (rom e8uation 2, (or *hich it is necessary to kno* the $re:entry and *all
(orces. 7ne o( the roots o( e8uation 4 is subsonic Eram0et intakeF and the other su$ersonic Escram0et
intakeF. 'he roots are e8ual, and corres$ond to /ach 1 *hen,

-
1
q
<
!
<

2
=4
1

2
M
<
2

3=4
Ahen the stream thrust is belo* the )alue gi)en by e8uation =, no solution is $ossible and the intake *ill
not start. 'he (lo* *ill be choked at the isolator entrance and the e+cess (lo* *ill be s$ilt.
1t should be remembered that the )alue o( -
(
and the one dimensional $arameters it is associated *ith, are
calculated (rom a t*o Eor threeF dimensional (lo* (ield. Carameters like u
(
and p
(
are e8ui)alent to the
)alues that *ould be measured i( the (lo* *as allo*ed to become (ully mi+ed, and uni(orm *ithin a
constant area, (rictionless isolator. 'he mi+ing is associated *ith a loss in total $ressure, but no change in
-
(
, and it is understandable *hy some intake designers are reluctant to ascribe the mi+ing loss to their
intake. #o*e)er, it is stream thrust that determines *hether the (lo* *ill be able to $ass into the
combustor and it is not coincidental that this method is able to $redict ma+imum allo*able back $ressure,
*hile other a)eraging techni8ues such as mass or area a)eraging re8uire em$irical (actors to account (or
Je+tra to shock lossesK.
2./ E4 intake !e%"mance
Using /7C to calculate the *all and $re:entry (orces and e8uation 4 to determine the e8ui)alent one
dimensional isolator state, the isolator static and stagnation $ressures *ere sought (or the >4 o)er the
(light /ach number range o( 2.52 to 4.2=. 'here are three as$ects o( this $rocedure that are *orth
consideration be(ore re)ie*ing the results,
'he (lo* local to the co*l li$ has $articular signi(icance in intake design. Ahen the internal
sur(ace is not aligned *ith the di)iding streamline, the local /ach number must be su((iciently
high that the internal shock *ill not detach. 'he same considerations a$$ly to the e+ternal (lo*.
'his $ro)ides another limit to the degree o( com$ression. 'he >4 co*l a$$ears to turn the (lo*
back (rom a$$ro+imately 2L Elocal streamline angleF to .@L, and the internal shock remained
attached o)er the (light /ach number range. 'he co*l9s contribution to a+ial stream thrust Edue to
the (inite length bet*een li$ and control )olume out(lo* boundary, (igure 4F *as calculated using
the $ressure do*nstream o( this internal shock, and included *ithin -
p
.
'he isolator a$$ears to be choked Ethe condition set by e8uation =F at M
<
H@.1, and the model
$redicts that belo* this (light /ach number the intake *ould run sub critically. #o*e)er, i( it is
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 6 RTO-EN-AVT-185


assumed that the $ressure on the inside o( the co*l is that gi)en by a strong obli8ue shock
Esubsonic do*nstreamF rather than the *eak obli8ue shock, then the stream thrust is su((icient (or
the intake to o$erate su$er critically at /ach 2.52.
'he turbulent boundary layer on the s$ike *as modelled using the momentum integral e8uation
and the (lat $late relationshi$s bet*een, momentum Reynolds number and local skin (riction
coe((icient. and edge /ach number and sha$e (actor. 'he re(erence tem$erature method accounts
(or com$ressibility. 'he techni8ue has $ro)ed itsel( to be su((iciently accurate *hen a$$lied to
many di((erent internal and e+ternal (lo*s modelled by the author, des$ite the $resence o( large
$ressure gradients under *hich (lat $late closure might reasonably be challenged.
Figure 5: Calculated E4 intake performance
Cre entry drag coe((icient Ebased on co*l areaF, mass ca$ture ratio and li$ /ach number are $resented in
(igure =. 'he signi(icance o( li$ /ach number has 0ust been discussed, but note the discontinuous dro$ as
the sli$ line intersects the li$ and the noise Erandom com$onentF in the li$ /ach number $lot at (light
/ach numbers greater than @.D=. 1n the $resent calculation the discontinuity in entro$y at the sli$ line has
been allo*ed to numerically di((use through the (lo*, in a non:$hysical *ay, that can only be e+cused on
the basis that it is com$utationally con)enient and has no bearing on the key lessons to be dra*n (rom the
>4 study.
'he increase in mass ca$ture E!
<
-!
co*l
F as the ram0et accelerates *as a ma0or design consideration (or
'rommsdor( 324 as it allo*ed the ram0et *ith its (i+ed no??le throat to be running at near o$timal
conditions o)er the /ach number range. Cre entry drag *as a $enalty *orth $aying in order to kee$ the
intake o$erating near critical as *ill be discussed in the ne+t section.
1solator static and stagnation $ressure, calculated (rom the subsonic root o( e8uation 4, are also $resented
in (igure =. ;s are cur)es (or kinetic energy e((iciency de(ined as the s8uare o( the ratio o( e+haust
)elocity to (ree stream )elocity, *ith e+haust )elocity calculated by assuming the ca$tured air is e+$anded
isentro$icaly back to ambient $ressure *ith no $rior heat addition Eor subtractionF. 'he range o( <.5< to
3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.09
0.10
0.11
0.12
0.13
0.14
0.15
M
"
d
#
p
r
e
3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
M
$
0
%
$
c
o
&
l
3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
M
p
%
'
0
pstatic
pstag
()eff 0.90
()eff 0.92
()eff 0.94
3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2
2.00
2.05
2.10
2.15
2.20
2.25
2.30
2.35
2.40
M
M
l
i
p
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 7


<.54 *ould encom$ass most ram0et intakes *ith <.52 being ty$ical (or an intake *ith no boundary layer
bleeds and the com$romises re8uired (or reduced co*l drag, sel(:starting, and the ability to o$erate at
angle o( attack. 'he >4 cur)es demonstrate *hy kinetic energy e((iciency is a good descri$tor as a (i+ed
geometry intake tends to ha)e a constant e((iciency o)er its /ach number range. 'he di((erence bet*een a
good intake E<.54F and a mediocre one E<.5<F, amounts to the di((erence bet*een static and stagnation
$ressure in the >4 isolator. 'hus the subsonic di((user can $lay a signi(icant role in intake $er(ormance. 1t
is im$ortant to reco)er a good $ercentage o( the subsonic head, $articularly *hen the solution to e8uation
4 is a$$roaching sonic and there is a large di((erence bet*een stagnation and static $ressure.
'he decline in kinetic energy e((iciency e)ident in the >4 $ressure cur)es as it accelerates is due to the
in(luence o( the tri$le $oint, and at high M
+
the s*allo*ing o( (lo* abo)e the sli$ line. But *e shall no*
see that this should ha)e had no in(luence on the $ro0ectiles $er(ormance.
2.0 1ack !ess(e an$ c
2
1ntakes can only be understood in relation to the engine they are designed to (eed. 'he 8uantity c
M
de(ined
by,
c
M
=
p
c
!
nt
m
c
364
neatly e+$resses the relationshi$ bet*een the mass (lo*, m
c
,
e+hausting through the no??le throat Earea
!
nt
F and the combustor stagnation $ressure p
c
.
Calculation o( cM is a $roblem o( e8uilibrium chemistry, and Gordon and /cBride9s Chemical >8uilibrium
;nalysis EC>;F $rogram 3=4, *hich is *idely used and (ree to do*nload, greatly sim$li(ies this task.
Recognising that the mass lea)ing the combustor is the ca$tured air mass $lus the (uel in a $ro$ortion
described by the (uel air ratio, fa, e8uation 6 may be *ritten as,
p
c
q
<
=1fa
2 !
<
c
M
!
nt
u
<
34
C>; results (or burning carbon disu$lhide in air at 2Dbar and *ith stagnation tem$eratures corres$onding
to sea le)el (light are $resented in (igure 6. Chemical e8uilibrium, and c0, are not o)erly sensiti)e to
$ressure and $ro)ided one guesses the right order o( magnitude, its actual )alue can be calculated (rom
e8uation , using its estimated )alue *ithin the calculation o( c0.
Figure 6: E4 combustor model
3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2
0.90
0.95
1.00
1.05
1.10
1.15
1.20
1.25
1.30
1.35
M
*
1
+
f
a
,
c
s
t
a
r
%
u
0
3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2
0.26
0.28
0.30
0.32
0.34
0.36
0.38
0.40
M
$
n
t
%
$
c
o
&
l
)- . 1
)- . 0.8
)- . 0.6
)- . 1
)- . 0.8
)- . 0.6
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 8 RTO-EN-AVT-185


'he le(t hand side o( (igure 6 utilises no in(ormation about the intake, but is $ro$ortional to p
c
-q
+
*hen !
+
-
!
nt
is constant. 1n that case, p
c
-q
+
*ould ha)e decreased by a$$ro+imately 2<N as the >4 accelerated (rom
/H@.2 to 4.2, unless e8ui)alence ratio *as increased. 1ncreasing >R (rom <.6 to 1 *ould ha)e held p
c
-q
+
constant but this does not e+$loit the (ull $otential o( the >4 intake *hich *as ca$able o( tolerating a 4<N
increase in back $ressure o)er this /ach number range as e)ident in (igure =.
'he right hand side incor$orates the /ach number de$endence o( the ratio o( ca$ture area !
+
to co*l area,
and intake p-q
+
ca$ability $resented in (igure =. For p
c
-q
+
it is assumed that D<N o( the di((erence bet*een
static $ressure and stagnation $ressure is reco)ered in the subsonic di((user. 7ne normally *ould consider
$ressure dro$ across the (lame holder and the $ressure dro$ due to heat addition but that detail adds
nothing here.
'he right hand side o( (igure 6 is the ob0ecti)e o( this >4 study, because it illustrates *hat is arguably the
most im$ortant as$ect o( any ram0et intake design. 'he ratio o( no??le throat to co*l area is normally
(i+ed. Let us assume that in the case o( >4 the )alue *as <.@@ as dra*n on the (igure. 1n that case adding
(uel at an e8ui)alence ratio E>RF greater than <.6 *ould unstart the intake at MH@.2. #o*e)er as the
$ro0ectile accelerates >R can be increased, rising to <.D at MH@.= and 1 at MH@.=. ;t higher /ach
numbers the back $ressure a$$lied to the intake e)en *ith >RH1 is lo*er than the intake is ca$able o(
deli)ering. 'he intake is said to be running su$er critically and in this mode the terminal shock does not sit
*ithin (lo* determined by the su$ersonic solution o( e8uation 4 Ei( it did, conditions do*nstream sim$ly
corres$ond to the subsonic solutionF but mo)es do*nstream in the di)erging subsonic di((user to *here
the /ach number is higher and the shock losses *ill be 0ust that re8uired (or the stagnation $ressure to
satis(y e8uation .
Building on the (undamental studies at Braunsch*eig and Gottingen, 'rommsdor( added $erha$s the most
im$ortant (actor that must enter the design com$romise and that is that the manner in *hich mass ca$ture
)aries *ith /ach number as the ram0et accelerates should be tailored to maintain e((iciency. De(ining the
o$timum mass ca$ture characteristic is made $ossible by simulation o( the (light. 'otal (uel burn to
achie)e a gi)en state, is one metric by *hich the cou$led $roblem o(, thrust re8uirement. $re:entry drag.
co*l drag. $ressure reco)ery. angle o( attack re8uirements. and e)en structural *eight im$lications can
be 0udged and subse8uently o$timised.
2.3 4ess"ns $a#n %"m the E4 st($5
;lthough created in a time *hen there *as little $rior art, the intake (or 'rommsdor(9s >4 is remarkably
so$histicated, and ser)es to illustrate the (ollo*ing design (eatures,
/ass ca$ture characteristics are tailored by a$$ro$riate $ositioning o( the co*l li$ relati)e to the
cone ti$ and biconic 0unction.
'he degree o( turning is set by the lo*est (light /ach number, and in $articular by the manner in
*hich the (lo* interacts *ith the co*l li$.
Cressure reco)ery at high /ach number *as com$romised by the $re)ious t*o constraints *ith no
e((ect on system $er(ormance, because back $ressure is determined by the engine and this *as
su((iciently lo*.
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 9


+ RO44S RO6CE T7OR AND ODIN
+.1 1&""$h"(n$
Bloodhound is a British sur(ace to air missile that entered ser)ice in 15=D as the /k 1, to be su$erseded by
the more ca$able /k 2 in 156@. 'he 1D<km range /k 2 *as $o*ered by t*o 'hor B'@ ram0ets, (igure ,
mounted abo)e and belo* the body, *hich accelerated the )ehicle (rom a boost /ach number o( 2.1= to
cruise at /ach 2.= 364. 'he Bloodhound used t*ist to steer and a )ariable incidence *ing *hich in theory
ke$t the angles o( attack lo* (or the ram0ets e)en during interce$t manoeu)res. 1n $ractice, (uel (lo* to the
lee*ard ram0et had to be reduced at angles o( attack greater than 4L in order to a)oid combustion
instability 34. 'his is an e+am$le o( an installation $roblem and not too sur$rising i( (amiliar *ith the
(lo* o)er cylinders at incidence. ; second $roblem re)ealed during test (lights, that has *ider
im$lications (or intake design and in $articular the design o( subsonic di((users, *ould be di((icult to
$redict *ithout the bene(it o( the hindsight a((orded by the bloodhound e+$erience.
Figure 7: Thor BT3, courtesy of Rolls Royce Heritage Trust
+.2 The 1T+ intake %&"# %ie&$
'he B'@ has a 24L-@1L biconic intake as measured (rom the inset $hotogra$h in (igure D. /7C (lo*(ield
com$utations re)eal a te+tbook design, *ith a design /ach number o( 2.=. Both shocks a$$ear to be
(ocused on the li$ at the cruise /ach number. 'ailoring mass ca$ture is clearly less signi(icant *hen the
(light /ach number range is limited. Co*l drag and *eight *ould ha)e been $rimary dri)ers in this
$odded engine a$$lication, and these encourage the use o( a short radius o( cur)ature (or the isolator Eto
minimise dragF and a relati)ely high rate o( di)ergence in the subsonic di((user Eto minimise length and
*eightF. ;t MH2, the streamline angle at the li$ is 22L and the local /ach number is 1.2D. 'he angle has a
direct e((ect on co*l drag and, as *ill be sho*n, the li$ /ach number sets the minimum isolator radius
and thus controls the $ro0ected area o( the co*l. 'he choice o( the second cone angle is likely to ha)e been
determined by these li$ $arameters. Follo*ing 7s*atitsch9s $rinci$le, one might ha)e e+$ected a more
slender (irst cone, but there is only a 2.=N dro$ in total $ressure across the (irst shock Eat /H2F and the
angle o( attack sensiti)ity is much reduced *ith high cone angles.
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 10 RTO-EN-AVT-185


Figure 8: MOC solutions for the Thor BT3 24/31biconic, the circle marks the cowl lip position
+.+ Is"&at" c(8at(e
'he isolator, also kno*n as the intake throat, is a section o( near constant area that links the su$ersonic
and subsonic di((users. ;t ma+imum back $ressure, the isolator contains the terminal shock system that
con)erts the su$ersonic root o( e8uation 4 to the subsonic root. 'hese roots are related by identical mass
(lo*, energy and stream thrust and there(ore they are connected in $recisely the same *ay as the
conditions u$stream and do*nstream o( a normal shock. Go matter ho* com$licated the isolator
(lo*(ield, the u$stream and do*nstream states are essentially linked by the Rankine #ugoniot relations.
7nly *all (orces and heat trans(er can alter this relationshi$ and a small decrease in stream thrust due to
skin (riction is una)oidable, but clearly minimised i( the isolator is ke$t short. Losses due to *all $ressure
(orces are more di((icult to estimate e+ce$t in the tri)ial Ebut not uncommon (or scram0etsF case in *hich
*all $ressure (orces do not ha)e a com$onent in the direction o( the inlet-outlet momentum balance.
Bloodhound9s short, high:cur)ature isolator is ty$ical o( intakes designed (or /ach 2 to @. 2uch intakes
normally e+hibit a region o( stable subcritical o$eration *hen tested in isolation, but it *ould be )ery
sur$rising i( any ram0et intake *as allo*ed to o$erate this *ay *hen cou$led to a combustor. ;llo*ing air
mass (lo* and $ressure to be cou$led to (uel (lo* and combustion *ould sim$ly be in)iting instability.
'here(ore *e should e+$ect a su$ersonic-transonic (lo* *ithin the cur)ed isolator and *all $ressure
(orces to $lay an im$ortant role. Aall (orce is re8uired to increase the a+ial stream thrust (rom -
(
cosO
Ee8uation 2F to -
(
as the (lo* is turned hori?ontal, i( the $otential $ressure reco)ery at the co*l $lane is to
be realised a(ter the turn. 7ne could imagine *ith a su((iciently large turn radius the di((erence bet*een
sur(ace $ressures on the s$ike and co*l induced by the centri(ugal acceleration o( the air (lo* *ould
result in $recisely the re8uired thrust. #o*e)er in order to minimise the e+ternal drag the designer *ill try
to turn the (lo* as tightly as $ossible *ithout signi(icantly com$romising the $ressure reco)ery. 'he
em$irical rule that the radius o( cur)ature should be a minimum o( (our throat heights 3D4 has limitations
and a $hysical basis that are re)ealed by the (ollo*ing analysis.
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
M=2.0 M=2.5
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 11


Fi'(e 9 A m"$e& t" $etemine the c(8at(e at #hich an is"&at" ch"kes
Consider the (lo* entering the isolator at /ach number M
i
and corres$onding Crandtl /eyer angle 1
i
in
(igure 5. 1( at the entrance both the co*l and s$ike are gi)en a small de(lection POH:1
i
through a *eak
shock Ered lineF and e+$ansion Eblue lineF res$ecti)ely, then the (lo* near the co*l *ill be at /ach 1, the
minimum allo*able i( the decou$ling (unction o( the isolator is to be maintained, and the (lo* near the
s$ike *ill be at a /ach number corres$onding to 21
i
. Do*nstream o( the intersection o( the shock and
e+$ansion, in the region *here the (lo* has encountered both, the /ach number is returned to M
i
but the
streamline angle has been reduced by 21
i
. 'his $rocess takes a distance set by the ga$ height, h, and the
a)erage $ro$agation rate o( the trailing edge o( the e+$ansion (an. 2ince the shock and (an trailing edge
meet close to the s$ike sur(ace, the trailing edge $ro$agates most o( the *ay at the /ach angle (or M
i
and
the shock e+$ansion $rocess takes a distance o( a$$ro+imately h

M
i
2
1 to com$lete. 'he streamline
angle has changed by 21
i
o)er this distance and the radius o( cur)ature r is there(ore,
r
h

M
i
2
1
2
i
3D4
'his (unction is consistent *ith the J(our throat heightsK rule o( thumb *hen the entrance (lo* /ach
number is 1.@ *hich is ty$ical (or intakes designed (or (light at /ach 2 to @ E(igure 5F. Gote the (unctions
strong sensiti)ity at lo* /ach number has im$lications (or o$eration at angle o( attack, because the e+tra
com$ression on the *ind*ard side can easily lead to subcritical o$eration i( the combination o( isolator
cur)ature and nominal M
i
are too close to the limit (or ?ero angle o( attack.
+.4 S(:s"nic $i%%(se
; (lo* straightener is a sur$rising (eature to see in a ram0et engine, $articularly one that *ould a$$ear to
be unnecessary gi)en that it is $laced 0ust u$stream o( a colander (lame holder, as re)ealed in the
sectioned 'hor engine o( (igure . 7ne might ha)e e+$ected that the head loss across the (lame holder,
needed to dri)e the (uel-air mi+ing and stabilise the (lame, *ould ha)e been su((icient to encourage (lo*
uni(ormity. Fuel is introduced )ia the radial s$ray bar )isible 0ust do*nstream o( the honeycomb (lo*
straightener, and the (uel air mi+ture must $ass through the s8uare cut outs in the conical (lame holder.
Flame stabilisation is achie)ed by lea)ing the tab (ormed by cutting three sides o( the s8uare hole, bent
internally and hanging (rom the do*nstream (orth side: a rather beauti(ul $iece o( $ractical engineering.
1ndeed, the straightener *as only introduced as a (i+ to the $roblem encountered during bloodhound9s
h
r
2Q
i
Q
i
QH<, POH:Q
i

QH2Q
i
, POH:Q
i

QHQ
i
, POH:2Q
i

r
h
=

M
i
2
1
2
i
/0pical, eg /hor, 1din
2igh Mf, eg )4
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
M#i
r
%
h
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 12 RTO-EN-AVT-185


acce$tance trials. ;s the engine *as throttled (or cruise, the intake o$erated dee$ in its su$ercritical
regime *ith a strong terminal shock sitting in the subsonic di((user. 'his resulted in (lo* se$aration and a
narro* high )elocity stream, disru$ting the distribution o( (uel *ithin the air.
'he (lo* straightener sol)ed the $roblem by )irtue o( ha)ing a head loss that is $ro$ortional to local
dynamic $ressure, a narro* high )elocity stream results in a high $ressure dro$ and this (eeds u$stream to
reduce the si?e o( the se$aration and *iden the stream. 'hat is ho* (lo* straighteners Ealso kno*n as
aerodynamic gridsF *ork, but its (unction in 'hor had t*o additional attributes. 'he (irst *as that its
$resence resulted in the intake running closer to critical in cruise and thus reducing the strength o( the
terminal shock, ho*e)er during acceleration *hen the intake *as o$erating critically it did not ha)e a
strong ad)erse e((ect because in that state, the /ach number Eand dynamic headF at the straightener *as
)ery lo*. 'he second attribute is associated *ith a rather cunning integration o( the $ilot (lame air su$$ly
into the base o( the straightener. 'he annular ga$ at the inner diameter o( the straightener (eeds air to a
centrally located $ilot (lame and the $ro$ortion that $asses to the $ilot increases *ith the head loss at the
straightener. 'his allo*ed the cruise (uel re8uirement to be (ed to the $ilot, allo*ing stable combustion
*ithin a $rimary stream $rior to mi+ing *ith the secondary stream in the main combustor.
1t *ould be remiss not to mention that the main concern o( subsonic di((user design is $re)enting
boundary layer se$aration in the ad)erse $ressure gradient, and that kee$ing di((usion rates e8ui)alent to
that *ithin a @L to =L hal( angle cone has $ro)ed e((ecti)e. 'his is a $roblem common to many
a$$lications o( (luid mechanics and the e)idence (or this result is $resented in te+tbooks such as that by
/assey 354. 'he bloodhound e+$erience adds to the story, by reminding us that the di((user must also
$ro)ide an acce$table le)el o( uni(ormity to the combustor *hen the intake is o$erating su$ercritically,
and that *hen the back $ressure a$$lied by the combustor is lo*, it may be $ossible to e+$loit the e+cess
$ressure that an intake can $ro)ide to hel$ o$timise the air(lo* *ithin the combustor.
+./ Sea$at
2eadart is a much smaller sur(ace to air missile than Bloodhound, ha)ing been designed to be stored
)ertically bet*een decks o( the Royal Ga)y 'y$e 42 destroyers. 1t is boosted to /ach 2
R
Ehere *e assume
2.1F and can accelerate to /ach @ but the (light /ach number is a (unction o( total tem$erature Ean
air(rame limitF and thus de$ends on altitude 364. 2eadart9s intake is an isentro$ic s$ike integrated *ith the
missile (orebody. ; central air trans(er duct (eeds the 7din engine at the rear. 'he central schematic in
(igure 1< sho*s the s$ike is $art o( a large central body that contains the *arhead and this dual (unction
combined *ith the need to create missile )olume allo*ed a long isolator *ith limited turning to be
combined *ith a subsonic di((user o( lo* di)ergence rate. 'he lo*er right (igure is the combustor )ie*ed
through the no??le, sho*ing an in)erted (lame holder in com$arison to that o( 'hor. 'he main air(lo*
$asses (rom the central air trans(er duct through the colander *hich generates longitudinal )ortices. Fuel is
in0ected through radial s$ray bars near the trans(er duct e+it. 'he $ilot ?ones are hidden behind the small
out*ard (acing tabs at the base o( the colander. 'he multi$le small holes in the combustor liner $ro)ide
cooling air *hich, like the $ilot air is dra*n (rom the outer edge o( the trans(er duct.
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 13


Fi'(e 1; Sea$at. 4e%t han$ !h"t"'a!h c"!ie$ %"m )iki!e$ia."'< i'ht han$ !h"t"'a!hs #ee taken
at the =em:&e m(se(m< U=.
+.0 Sea$at intake %&"#%ie&$
/easurements made (rom $hotogra$hs re)eal the intake has much in common *ith 'hor9s, ha)ing a 24L
(ore cone and a co*l li$ $ositioned along the ray that is )ery close to the bo* shock angle at /ach 2.=.
Clacing the (ocus o( a Crandtl /eyer (an at the co*l li$ and turning the (lo* to 24L there, de)elo$s the
isentro$ic turn bringing the sur(ace angle to @@L. 'he resulting contour, (igure 11, matches that measured
(rom $hotogra$hs. 'hus the design a$$ears to be another te+tbook e+am$le, *ith the design /ach number
chosen mid range, and both the shock and (an (ocused on li$ at that /ach number.
Figure 11: MOC solutions for the Seadart 24/33isentropic spike, the circle marks the cowl lip
position
;n incom$lete /7C solution (or /ach 2.1 is sho*n on the le(t hand side o( (igure 11. 'he le(t running
characteristic originating at the end o( the turn has o)ertaken the one originating at the start. Ahere)er a
characteristic catches another o( the same (amily it merges to (orm a *eak shock *hich $ro$agates at the
mean o( the u$stream and do*nstream /ach angles, that is, it bisects the characteristics on *hich it *as
(ormed. ;*ay (rom its origin, as the shock gro*s in strength, the shock angle is best determined directly
(rom the Rankine #ugoniot relations, *hile ensuring com$atibility *ith the do*nstream (lo* (ield. ;n
e+am$le o( this is gi)en later. For current $ur$oses, the solution is le(t incom$lete as it $ro)ides a
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
0.0
0.5
1.0
M=2.1 M=2.5 M=2.9
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 14 RTO-EN-AVT-185


re)ealing $hysical $icture o( the com$ression $rocess abo)e an isentro$ic s$ike *hen o$erated belo*
design /ach number. 'he right hand (igure (or /ach 2.5, sho*s the (lo* (ield at abo)e design /ach
number, and no such com$lication occurs.
;t /ach 2.1 the calculated mass ca$ture is D=N, and the (lo* at the li$ is at 24L and /ach 1.25 *hile the
/ach number at the sur(ace is closer to 1.24. Sudging (rom (igure 5 the radius o( cur)ature should be
bet*een (our and (i)e throat heights to maintain su$ersonic (lo*, and this is at least consistent *ith the
e+ternal )ie*s o( the intake. 'hus on the e)idence a)ailable there is little to distinguish the 'hor and
2eadart intakes at lo* /ach number or suggest an im$ro)ed angle o( attack ca$ability. Further /7C
analysis indicates that belo* /ach 2.< the intake runs *ith the isolator either choked or subsonic,
de$ending on back $ressure. 'his is due $rimarily to the high degree o( e+ternal turning and is a $hase all
ram0ets must $ass through during boost. 'he tandem 2eadart booster attachment is designed to allo*
through (lo* and ignition during boost Ethe ignitor breech is in the 4 o9clock $osition in the combustor
$hotogra$h o( (igure 1<F and this $robably occurs *ith the isolator choked.
;t /ach 2.5 the (lo* at the co*l entrance has an entirely di((erent character and it is in this state that one
should e+$ect robust $er(ormance *ith tolerance to high angle o( attack. 'he bo* shock $asses inside the
co*l li$ but the ma0ority o( the ca$tured mass is com$ressed *ithin the shock layer around the s$ike. Free
stream air is also $assing through the entrance and must undergo all its com$ression internally. Gi)en that
the internal li$ angle is $robably only slightly less than 24L the air *ould (irst be e+$anded around this
corner *ere it not (or the internal se$aration bubble that (orms in such cases. 'he isolator (lo*, as normal,
is com$licated by shock boundary layer interactions and (lo* se$arations, but has this mar)ellous ability
to ad0ust itsel( to make the outlet com$atible *ith the inlet $ro)ided the isolator is made long enough and
its di)ergence rate is ?ero or )ery lo*. 'his (le+ibility is only e+hibited *hen, entrance /ach number is
high enough that the (lo* is not choked by cur)ature. and stream thrust, -
(
, is su((icient to tolerate the
a$$lied back $ressure.
+.3 4ess"ns $a#n %"m the Th" an$ Sea$at st($ies
'*o lessons (rom these related ram0ets are,
2e$arations *ithin the subsonic di((user can result in unacce$table air (lo* distribution to the
combustor. 'hor re8uired a (lo* straightener to (i+ the $roblem it encountered in acce$tance
trials. 2eadart ado$ted a )ery lo* di)ergence rate in the subsonic di((user, akin to ha)ing an
abnormally long isolator. 'he thought behind this a$$roach *as that i( isolators can contain strong
shocks *ithout se)ere (lo* distortion then so should subsonic di((users o( su((iciently lo*
di)ergence, and the a$$roach $ro)ed e((ecti)e 34.
;ngle o( attack ca$ability is a((ected by cross (lo* on the s$ike and this e((ect is reduced by
choice o( a su((iciently large (ore cone angle, and o$eration at high Reynolds number. #o*e)er a
more (undamental limit is associated *ith choking o( the isolator *hen entrance /ach numbers
are too lo*. 1( the *ind*ard side (lo* is com$ressed to too lo* a /ach number, then the (lo*
*ill choke i( sub0ect to either internal contraction or isolator cur)ature and the intake unstarts.
Because o( this an intake designed to o$erate o)er a /ach number range, *ill ha)e better angle o(
attack $er(ormance at high /ach number.
4 >ARIA14E ?EOMETR6 AND 14EEDS
4.1 Int"$(cti"n
'he intakes e+amined abo)e are all (i+ed geometry su$$lying engines *ith (i+ed no??le throat areas. Gone
had boundary layer bleeds, $rimarily because they didn9t need them. ;lthough skin (riction *as taken into
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 15


account in the calculation o( stream thrust and >4 intake $er(ormance, no ad0ustment *as made to account
(or boundary layer dis$lacement thickness in any o( the (lo*(ield calculations. 'his neglect *as based on
con)enience and a desire not to introduce unnecessary com$lications. #o*e)er, in $ractice com$lications
are o(ten una)oidable and )arious measures and ingenious de)ices ha)e been de)ised that allo* intakes to
(unction o)er large /ach number ranges and at relati)ely lo* Reynolds numbers. 'he G;2; #y$ersonic
Research >ngine, the B;C-2UD Concorde and the Lockheed 2R:1 *ill ser)e as an introduction to this
as$ect o( intake design.
4.2 NASA 75!es"nic eseach en'ine
'he #y$ersonic Research >ngine E#R>F $ro0ect to design, de)elo$, construct and (light test a high
$er(ormance ram0et-scram0et *as an e+ce$tionally *ell documented research $rogramme that $ro)ides a
rare E$erha$s uni8ueF )ie* o( intake de)elo$ment (rom engine conce$t to trials re)ie*. Recommended
reading (or this $ur$ose are, the $ro0ect re)ie* by ;ndre*s and /acklay 31<4 as an introduction. (ollo*ed
by the ;iResearch re$ort 3114 on their engine conce$t. the ;iResearch (inal re$ort on the intake
$rogramme 3124. and (inally the analysis o( the intake e+$erimental results by ;ndre*s and /acklay 31@4.
'o some e+tent, the ready a)ailability o( this documentation makes commentary on the design $rocess
redundant. #o*e)er continuing *ith the theme o( the lecture *e *ill look at $articular details o( the (inal
E$hase 11F intake *ith the ob0ecti)e o( learning something general. Fortunately in this case re)erse
engineering is not re8uired.
Figure 12: The Hypersonic Research Engine, courtesy of NASA
4.+ Tai&"in' mass ca!t(e an$ c"ntacti"n ati"s
'he #R> intake has a translatable s$ike and a =.64=L Enot measured (rom a $hotogra$hTF u$ slo$ing
throat. 'he combination o( the t*o allo*s the throat area to be )aried. 1n most translating s$ike intakes,
the throat is (ormed bet*een the rear, do*n:slo$ing, sur(ace o( the s$ike and the co*l, and the s$ike is
retracted to reduce the throat. 7n the the #R> the s$ike *as e+tended to reduce the throat, *hile
simultaneously allo*ing shock on li$ to be maintained (rom /ach 6 to D. 'he a$$ro$riate sign and
magnitude o( the slo$e de$ends on the mass (lo* characteristics o( the engine. 'urbo0ets are best su$$lied
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 16 RTO-EN-AVT-185


by an intake that increases both ca$ture area and contraction ratio as /ach number increases, as *ill be
e)ident (rom the Concorde and 2R:1 discussion. 'he #R> intake-engine cou$ling *as unusual and more
intimate, the ga$ bet*een the co*l and s$ike do*nstream o( the throat *as the scram0et engine, *hile that
u$stream *as the intake, and both geometry )ary as the s$ike translates.
For the #R> intake to ha)e (ull ca$ture (rom /ach 6 to D and simultaneously increase contraction, the u$
slo$ing throat *as an elegant solution that also allo*ed the intake to meet the re8uirement that it be closed
during the acceleration $hase o( the test (light. 'he s$ike *as sim$ly e+tended until the throat area *as
almost ?ero *hich occurred near the co*l li$. 7ne disad)antage o( an u$ slo$ing throat is high co*l drag
as the engine co*l has to gro* to accommodate the gro*ing s$ike Eand its matching internal contourF.
Ahile the #R> is sometimes $ortrayed as a naU)e design that (ailed to recognise the signi(icance o( co*l
drag, ma+imising net thrust by minimising co*l drag *as not a $ro0ect re8uirement. 'he ob0ecti)e *as to
demonstrate good internal $er(ormance in a $od that could be tested on the V:1= 31<4, and the intake
re(lects the re8uirements and constraints it *as designed to meet 3124.
;n unusual (eature o( the s$ike contour (or the (inal intake J'K, *as the use o( t*o distinct isentro$ic
turns each *ith its o*n (ocus and design /ach number. 'he $hase:1 contour had been a 1<L cone *ith an
isentro$ic turn to 2<.=L (ocused on the li$ at /ach D. 'his intake *as (ound to ha)e insu((icient
contraction at /ach 6 and D and too much at /ach 4. ; lack o( contraction is $otentially easy to recti(y
but since the s$ike *as to remain (i+ed at the /ach 6 $osition (or (light bet*een 4 and 6 Eto maintain the
engine geometryF, increasing contraction at /ach 6 *hile simultaneously decreasing it at 4 necessitates a
change in contour that *ill result in increased s$ill at /ach 4 *hile still retaining (ull ca$ture at 6. 'his is
the same challenge 'romsdorr( (aced and the Lockheed engineers Eon subcontract to ;iResearchF (ound a
similar solution. 'hey mo)ed the (ocus o( the turn to the co*l li$ at its /ach 6 $osition, and turned
through the angle E=.DLF to $roduce the re8uired s$ill at /ach 4. Further turning *as needed to achie)e the
re8uired contraction at all /ach numbers, and this *as delayed until the last $oint $ossible *ithout
re8uiring high internal contraction at /ach D, and so the second turn *as (ocused on the /ach D li$
$osition at /ach D.
Figure 13: MOC solutions demonstrating the development and function of the intake T contour
(see text).
'he design $rocess and its /ach 4 result are illustrated by the /7C solutions in (igure 1@. 'he (irst ste$
in the $rocess, the generation o( the /ach 6 turn, is omitted as this is substantially the same as the li$
(ocused turn (or 2eadart, in (igure 11. Do*nstream o( the turn the contour continues as a straight conical
section, and this is the blue line that is the lo*er boundary on the le(t side o( (igure 1@. 'he (lo* o)er this
contour at /ach D is then calculated *ith /7C and that generates the light blue mesh on the le(t. 'he
com$ression (rom the /ach 6 turn is strengthening the bo* shock and de(lecting it a*ay (rom the sur(ace.
'he ne* /ach D li$ $osition is determined by *here the shock reaches co*l radius, note that it is (or*ard
1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
M=8.0 M=4.0
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 17


o( the unde(lected shock $osition reducing the stroke re8uired (or the s$ike. 'his had the disad)antage that
the throat angle Eu$:slo$eF had to be increased to meet the s$eci(ied throat area )ariation bet*een /ach 6
and D.
'he third ste$ in the $rocess is to identi(y the le(t running characteristic that intersects the shock at the
ne* /ach D li$ $osition, as it (orms the u$stream boundary o( the (lo* through the ne+t turn. 'he (lo*
do*nstream o( this characteristic, calculated in ste$ 2, *ill no longer be )alid. ; Crandtl /eyer (an is
centred on the li$ and traced back to (ind the ne* sur(ace, continuing the turn until the re8uired e+ternal
contraction is reached.
'he (lo* o)er this contour at /ach 4 is sho*n on the right side o( (igure 1@. 'he regions o( in(luence o(
the t*o turns are made e)ident by the bunching o( the le(t running characteristics at the to$ o( the mesh.
'he second turn has not in(luenced the s$ill at /ach 4 since the leading Eu$streamF characteristic (rom this
turn intersects the li$ in the /ach 4 $osition. 'hus con(irming the strategy o( setting /ach 4 ca$ture ratio
by the degree o( the (irst turn. 'he second turn does in(luence /ach 4 s$ill *ith the li$ in the /ach D
$osition and this $ro)ed to be )ery im$ortant. 'he intake could not be started *ith the li$ in the (or*ard
$osition because the internal contraction *as *ell abo)e the limit established by 7s*atitsch Eand later
%antro*it?F. 'o start the intake, the s$ike *as e+tended to reduce internal contraction, and then retracted
to the running $osition once the intake had started. ; ma0or obstacle to the design *as that the ratio o(
ca$ture area to throat area *as not monotonic and at /ach 4 it $eaked bet*een the starting and running
$ositions. >ndea)ouring to kee$ the $eak belo* a )alue o( 6, *hich *as regarded as a sa(e *orking limit,
*as a serious challenge that *as ne)er 8uite satis(ied. 'he $hase:11 ' intake, 0ust described, had a $eak
ca$ture:to:throat ratio o( 6.1 at /ach 4, and its starting $ro)ed unreliable and )ery sensiti)e to *all
tem$erature Ea boundary layer e((ectF. /ost o( the other contours e+amined by the Lockheed engineers
had much higher $eaks, and intake '9s lo*er )alue is due, in $art, to the second (ocus.
4.4 C"nc"$e
; turbo0et $laces di((erent demands on an intake than those o( a ram0et, as noted in the $re)ious section.
But i( a ram0et *ere to be $art o( a combined cycle $ro$ulsion system, and-or *as re8uired (or an
a$$lication *here the mass o( (uel used *as su((icient to (a)our engine e((iciency o)er structural *eight
sa)ing, then some o( the so$histicated (eatures o( turbo0et intakes *ould likely be ado$ted (or the ram0et.
'he Concorde intake has set a )ery high standard, ha)ing high $er(ormance, being robust in o$eration,
mechanically sim$le, and ha)ing an uncom$licated control system that *as dormant (or most o( the (light.
2o it *ould make a )ery good case study, (or anyone endea)ouring to meet similar re8uirements.
Figure 14: Concorde and its nacelle, courtesy of A. Pingstone and Wikipedia.org
Be(ore Concorde9s (irst (light on the 2
nd
/arch 1565, and eight years be(ore it entered ser)ice in Sanuary
156, Rettie and Le*is described the design and de)elo$ment o( the su$ersonic trans$ort9s intake at the
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 18 RTO-EN-AVT-185


1<
th
;nglo:;merican ;eronautical con(erence. 'heir $a$er 3144 gi)es a (airly com$lete descri$tion o( the
intake omitting some geometric details that ha)e since entered the $ublic domain 31=:14. 'he s8uare
intakes Eunity as$ect ratioF are mounted *ithin under *ing nacelles and consist o( a L initial (i+ed ram$
(ollo*ed by a mo)able ram$ that incor$orates a =.=L isentro$ic turn. ;t the design (light /ach number o(
2.< the second ram$ is set to W
2
H5.6L turning the (lo* to a total angle o( 1=.@=L. 'he internal co*l contour
is a circular arc inclined at 12L to the under *ing (lo* at the li$, re8uiring a @.@=L turn o( the ca$tured
(lo* (or shock attachment. 'he u$stream section o( the subsonic di((user is a mo)eable ram$, hinged at its
do*nstream end and its actuation is mechanically linked to the u$stream Esu$ersonicF ram$ so the ram$s
mo)e in sync. 'he ga$ bet*een the ram$s (orms a *ide bleed slot that on design, s$ans a distance o(
a$$ro+imately 6<N o( the ca$ture height, h and bleeds 6N o( the ca$tured mass.
Figure 15: Concorde's intake flowfield on design at Mach 2.0, as calculated and drawn to scale.
The enlarged detail of the cowl on the right compares the new and old contours.
'he isolated intakes *ere tested at /ach 1.51= *hich *as said to be a good a$$ro+imation to the local
/ach number (or the outboard $air. 'he calculated t*o dimensional in)iscid (lo*(ield at this /ach
number is dra*n to scale in (igure 1=. 'he (irst ram$ is $ositioned 1.4@h ahead o( the li$ and the leading
edge o( the second is <.=2h do*nstream so that the hinge shock intersects the li$ *ith W
2
H5L. 'he
com$ression (an a$$ears to ha)e been (ocussed <.<2h directly abo)e the li$ *hen on design *ith W
2
H5.6L.
'he t*o co*l $ro(iles dra*n in (igure 1= *ere obtained (rom 2UD re$ort C@5 314 describing
aerodynamic im$ro)ements (or the $roduction aircra(t that had been $ro)en by 15D. 'he lo*ered and
thinned co*l li$ resulted in a 11<<kg reduction in (uel burn on the London Ge* "ork (light *hich is
e8ui)alent to a$$ro+imately 11N o( the $ayload Ei.e. 11 $assengersF. 'he co*l $ro(iles and the *ide bleed
slot are uni8ue (eatures that *arrant greater attention and are the (ocus o( the (ollo*ing section. #o*e)er
*e shall (irst note some o( the other essential elements o( the intakes. 'he dum$ doors, o$en in the right
hand $hotogra$h o( (igure 14, are acti)ely controlled and o$ened to s$ill e+cess air *hen the engine is
throttled (or descent or should it ha)e to be shut do*n. 'he dum$ doors also $artially o$en on days 2=%
*armer than the international standard atmos$here E12;R2=F, *hen the engine air demand is reduced by
the high total tem$erature, and W
2
*ould need to be increased abo)e 12L in order to create su((icient (ore
s$ill. Greater ram$ angles lead to e+cessi)e (lo* non:uni(ormity at the engine (ace.
7n days bet*een 12;R= and 12;R2= the ram$ angle is acti)ely controlled bet*een 5.6L and 12L in order
to $ro)ide the re8uired s$ill to match engine demand. 7n days *ith tem$eratures belo* 12;R=, *hich is
5<N o( the time on the intended routes, the intake runs su$ercritcally *ith the *ide bleed $assi)ely
acce$ting the di((erence bet*een engine air demand and that ca$tured by the intake. 'his a$$ealing
attribute o( this ty$e o( bleed *as studied in detail by Lenyaert at 7G>R;, and her ;G;RD $a$er 31D4
contains sketches o( the transonic (lo* o)er the constant $ressure slot and the manner in *hich the (lo*
reattachment at the leading edge o( the subsonic ram$ ad0usts to )ary bleed mass. 'he subsonic ram$s
leading edge *as also modi(ied in 15D1 as $art o( the intake im$ro)ement $ackage 3154. 'he end $ro(iles
o( the ram$s dra*n in (igure 1= *ere traced (rom the 2tructural Re$air /anual 3154.
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 19


;lthough the design *as (ocussed on cruise the intake must also satis(y the engine demands during take
o((, subsonic cruise and acceleration. 'he dum$ door contains a s$ring loaded (la$ that o$ens in*ards to
$ro)ide e+tra air during take:o(( and (urther a(t on the nacelle there is another s$ring loaded (la$ that
admits outside air to the engine bay *hen sub atmos$heric. During subsonic cruise, $ressure reco)ery in
the bleed slot is su((icient that all the cooling air including that (or the no??le is su$$lied by the bleed. 1n
subsonic (light the ram$ angle W
2
is set to a$$ro+imately 2L and increased $rogressi)ely during
acceleration abo)e /ach 1.@, as illustrated in (igure 16b o( re(erence 3144.
4./ Temina& sh"ck sten'th
Cressure reco)ery at /ach 2 *as 5=N *ith X1N o( the loss attributable to the subsonic di((usion, <.=N to
the (irst shock, <.<2N to the second, and @.N to the third and (inal, strong obli8ue shock. Loss o( stream
thrust )ia skin (riction on the su$ersonic ram$s is con(ined to the boundary layer *hich is e+tracted
through the bleed slot. 7n design the bleed $ressure reco)ery *as 4=N. 1( the (or*ard ram$ had been
lengthened as indicated by the dashed line in (igure 1=, *ith a *eak obli8ue shock to align the (lo* *ith
the co*l and a normal shock to bring the (lo* subsonic the @.N loss could in theory ha)e been reduced
to 1.=N. Go* since a 1N increase in $ressure reco)ery *ould result in a 2.=N increase in $ayload 3144
there *as strong moti)ation to seek all $ossible gains, so the (act that this loss *as tolerated highlights the
signi(icance o( co*l drag, isolator cur)ature, nacelle length, and sel( starting re8uirements, in a *ay that
no generic discussion could. ;(ter the isentro$ic turn the /ach number *as 1.@D and *ith re(erence to
(igure 5 one might e+$ect to turn the (lo* in an isolator *ith a radius o( three throat heights. 1( the *eak
shock solution had been ado$ted the entrance /ach number *ould ha)e been 1.26 and a radius o(
cur)ature o( 4.= throat heights is indicated. ; co*l contour *ith a gradual turn back a(ter an e+tended run
at 12L *ould ha)e been e+cluded )ery 8uickly, but com$ression to such lo* /ach numbers in order to
minimise the terminal shock loss is a common *orking assum$tion o( generic intake studies.
;n additional ad)antage o( a strong terminal shock is that the do*nstream /ach number is reduced,
thereby reducing the $otential subsonic di((usion losses. Concorde9s subsonic di((user had the relati)ely
light 0ob o( decelerating the (lo* (rom /ach <.6 to /ach <.= at the engine (ace, corres$onding to a 2@N
increase in static $ressure, $utting the 1N loss o( this $rocess in clearer $ers$ecti)e.
4.0 The #i$e :&ee$ s&"t
'hree distinguishing (eatures o( the intake are, the relati)ely modest (lo* turning. the short (or*ard ram$.
and the *ide bleed slot. 'he moti)ation (or the (irst t*o is e+$lained abo)e but the $ractical
im$lementation is intimately connected *ith the third, ingenious de)ice. ; bleed ga$ bet*een the
subsonic and su$ersonic ram$s, sim$li(ies the mechanisms o( both, dis$enses *ith the need (or a (le+ible
sur(ace, and remo)es the boundary layer u$stream o( the terminal shock to increase shock stability and
decrease (lo* distortion. 1n these res$ects Concorde9s intake has much in common *ith those o( (ighter
aircra(t like the F:4 and F:1=. 'he unusual (eature is the length o( the ga$, *hich s$ans the (ull turn o( the
isolator Eand co*lF. 2ince (lo* momentum *ithin the bleed s$ace is negligible, it im$oses a constant
$ressure on the shear layer bridging the t*o ram$s, *ith the $ressure le)el being a (unction o( the bleed
mass (lo* and bleed outlet area. EConcorde9s bleed control area is set by matching *ith the $rimary
e+haust 0et in the dual stream no??le 3144.F 'he e((ecti)e contour $resented by the bleed ga$ naturally
ad0usts itsel( to simultaneous satis(y the main duct (lo* and bleed (lo*, *ithout inducing large losses in
the (ormer. 'his is $articularly im$ortant in the su$ercritical regime, allo*ing engine mass (lo* to
increase in res$onse to a decrease in atmos$heric tem$erature, rather than acce$ting the decrease in
$ressure reco)ery that results i( constant mass (lo* is maintained to the turbo0et.
;nother (a)ourable e((ect o( the *ide bleed is its demonstrated ability to accommodate a high cur)ature
co*l. 'he modi(ied co*l in (igure 1= maintains the 12L initial angle o( the original but the radius o(
cur)ature is reduced (rom @.4h to 2h Ethroat height is <.65h2. 'he sim$le theory de)elo$ed in section @.@
can9t tell us ho* tightly subsonic (lo* may be turned *ithout inducing high losses, but since it only takes
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 20 RTO-EN-AVT-185


a 6N stream tube contraction to accelerate the (lo* (rom /ach <.6 to sonic, it seems likely that tightly
turning high /ach number subsonic (lo* *ould result in choking and increased s$ill 0ust as it does at lo*
su$ersonic /ach numbers. 1n (act at ram$ angles o( 11L and 12L the li$ shock is detached 31=4, des$ite the
(act that ram$ /ach number remains su((icient (or attachment, and the intake s$ills about t*ice the mass
(lo* it *ould *ith attachment. Gote that a choked isolator does not mean the intake is running
subcritically, this only occurs *hen the back $ressure is su((icient to in(luence the s$ill. 'he s$ill due to
shock detachment is a $ositi)e attribute because the ram$s are only set at these higher angles in order to
(orce s$ill on *arm days. 1t *ould be interesting to kno* i( the decreased radius o( cur)ature o( the ne*
co*l did (orce shock detachment on design *ith the 2N increase in ca$ture height com$ensating (or the
loss. 1n any case, it is clear that there *as a signi(icant decrease in co*l drag and that the com$liant *ide
bleed slot *as able to accommodate the ne* contour.
4.3 1&ack:i$s A@12< 6F@12< SR@31
Designed to (ly at /ach @.2 at altitudes (rom = to D=k(t (or reconnaissance, the e+istence and $ur$ose o(
the single seat C1;9s ;:12 and its close relati)e the t*o seat U2;F 2R:1, (igure 16, *ere initially ke$t
secret. ; co)er story *as de)elo$ed in *hich only the interce$tor )ersion o( the aircra(t *as re)ealed
*hen it *as thought necessary to e+$lain the $ublic e+$enditure and aircra(t sightings 32<4. 'hree t*o seat
interce$tor )ersions, designated the "F:12, *ere built in com$arison to t*el)e ;:12 and thirty t*o 2R:1.
'echnical articles relating to the aircra(t ty$e generally re(er to the "F:12 Eor F:12F, but as (ar as
$ro$ulsion is concerned there is no Ekno*nF di((erence bet*een the ty$es.
;ccording to recently released re$orts, the intake Eincluding its control systemF *as the single most
im$ortant $roblem $acing the (light de)elo$ment 3214. %elly Sohnson says in his history o( the 7+cart
$rogram J3efore we had a usable inlet, we had to collect two million data points in the wind tunnel, and
later we had to do at least that many in flightK 3224. 'he mice *hich are the mouse sha$ed lum$s
do*nstream o( the throat )isible in the right hand $hotogra$h o( (igure 16 *ere introduced some t*o years
a(ter the (irst (light, in order to control Jduct roughness at /ach 2.4K 3214. Cresumably this re(ers to (lo*
distortion and the mice $robably im$ro)ed the subsonic di((usion by reducing the rate o( e+$ansion.
Figure 16: An SR-71 at Edwards courtesy of NASA and a close up of the spike and cowl internals
of the YF-12 in the USAF museum courtesy of J. Kurzke.
2ome *ind tunnel and (light data, *ere $ublished relati)ely early on, $ro)iding schematics and
sur$risingly detailed descri$tions o( the intake (unction and control system but omitting geometric details
32@,244. ;dditional in(ormation (rom the (light manual 32=4, some G;2; re$orts 326:254, and
$hotogra$hs o( the aircra(t no* on static dis$lay, make it $ossible to obtain a more com$lete $icture o( the
intake. 'he $ur$ose being, as *ith the other studies, to learn something (rom a success(ul a$$lied design.
'he general arrangement as described by Cam$bell 32@4, the (light manual and else*here, is as dra*n in
(igure 1. 'he intake throat is (ormed bet*een the rear in*ard slo$ing sur(ace o( the translating s$ike, and
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 21


the internal contour o( the co*l. 'he s$ike is retracted as /ach number increases *hich simultaneously
increases ca$ture area and decreases throat area, thereby increasing stream tube contraction. 'he s$ike
boundary layer is e+tracted through a slotted sur(ace near ma+imum diameter and $asses through the
centre:body su$$ort struts to be )ented o)erboard. 'he co*l boundary layer is bled through a ram scoo$
kno*n as the Jshock tra$K, $asses through the engine com$artment to $ro)ide cooling and then into the
e0ector no??le, shielding the no??le (rom the a(terburner e+haust and contributing to thrust. 'he (or*ard
by$ass is an acti)ely controlled e+traction o( air (rom the subsonic di((user through JdoorsK on the co*l
sur(ace located in bet*een the mice. 'he (or*ard by$ass air is )ented through the most u$stream lou)res
on the nacelle, )isible in (igure 16, *hile the do*nstream lou)res are those (or the s$ike bleed. 'he thrust-
drag $enalty o( (or*ard by$ass *as considerably greater than that o( the shock tra$ air or the manually
controlled a(t by$ass. 'o reduce the (lo* through the (or*ard by$ass the $ilot could select one o( three a(t
by$ass o$en $ositions, 1=N, =<N and 1<<N. ;ccording to Graham 3@14, the selection *as based on the
indicated $osition o( the (or*ard by$ass doors. ;s the aircra(t accelerated bet*een /ach 1. and @, the
(or*ard by$ass begins to o$en e+cessi)ely due to e+cess air mass ca$ture *ith res$ect to engine demand
and the $ilot (irst selects 1=N and then =<N o$en. By /ach 2.6 the (or*ard doors begin to close tight and
the $ilot shi(ts the a(t doors back to 1=N. ;bo)e /ach @.<= the intake ca$ture and engine demand *ere
*ell matched and the a(t by$ass *as normally closed.
Figure 17: SR-71 intake general arrangement, figure courtesy of NASA [30]
'his a*areness o( the intake (unction and the human interaction *ith it and its control system, e+$lains in
$art *hy intakes are s$oken o( *ith a$$arent a((ection in accounts o( su$ersonic aircra(t. Decelerating air,
e+changing momentum (or $ressure, and kinetic energy (or internal energy, *ould be a much less
interesting $rocess *ere it not (or the (act that the air *ithin the lo*er regions o( the boundary layer does
not ha)e su((icient momentum to negotiate the ad)erse $ressure gradients. 1t is only )iscous momentum
e+change *ith the outer layer that makes it $ossible (or the air close to the co*l and s$ike sur(aces to be
dragged (urther into the nacelle. Ahen this is insu((icient the boundary layer se$arates (rom the sur(ace
(orming a recirculation bubble bet*een *hat is no* a (ree shear layer and the sur(ace. 2uch bubbles tend
to be unsteady and radiate acoustic noise through the air and sur(ace. 1n Graham9s account o( (lying the
2R:1 he *rites: J!s you became more e'perienced in the aircraft you could sometimes feel when an
unstart was about to occur if the forward bypass door was closing down too tightly. ! very subtle inlet
duct rumble manifested itself throughout the airframe and gave you a clue that an unstart was imminent,
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 22 RTO-EN-AVT-185


unless the 4forward bypass5 doors were about to open up, or you took corrective action by shifting the aft
bypass doors closed6. Ae can in(er (rom this correcti)e action that high back $ressure *as not the source
o( instability because, E1F the intake control system *ould ha)e sensed high $ressure 0ust do*nstream o(
the shock tra$ and o$ened the (or*ard by$ass and E2F i( the se$aration *as due to e+cess air Ehigh back
$ressureF, closing the a(t by$ass *ould be certain to trigger the unstart. 'his highlights the additional
(unction o( the (or*ard by$ass, both by$ass regulate air(lo* to match intake to engine Ealbeit one is
automaticF, but the (or*ard by$ass is also an essential bleed *ithin the subsonic di((user, and at
intermediate s$ike $ositions it needed to be ke$t slightly o$en e)en *ith the intake running su$ercritically.
4.A Mi-e$ c"m!essi"n #ith sh"ck "n sh"(&$e
Figure 18: MOC solution for M=3.2 and comparison with measured cowl pressures from
Blausey et al [26], noting at M=3.2 the minimum dynamic pressure is 310KEAS [25]. The lowest
figure compares calculated duct cross sectional area distribution with that from Bangert et al
[28] for the spike in the forward position.
0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5
0.86
0.88
0.90
0.92
0.94
0.96
0.98
1.00
3%-#c
0
%
-
#
c
0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
3%-#c
p
%
p
#
1
p02%p01.0.845
p02%p01.0.830
p02%p01.0.785
M1"
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
0.40
0.41
0.42
0.43
0.44
0.45
0.46
0.47
0.48
0.49
3%-#c
$
#
3
%
$
#
c
M1" contour
$ctual
2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 23


Co*l drag is reduced by turning the (lo* to a+ial as ra$idly as $ossible. By using a relati)ely slender 1@L
hal( angle cone 324, and an internal li$ angle that a$$ears to be ?ero, the ca$tured (lo* may be turned
back to near a+ial immediately by the co*l shock. But this is only the (irst stage o( com$ression. ;t /ach
@.2 the /ach number do*nstream o( the internal co*l shock )aries (rom 2.=6 at the co*l to 2.@= at the
s$ike and to obtain the $ressure reco)ery o( <.D= (urther deceleration is re8uired $rior to the terminal
shock. 'his is achie)ed in *hat is essentially a t*o dimensional su$ersonic no??le o$erating in re)erse,
com$ressing the (lo* to a$$ro+imately /ach 1.4. 'his second com$ression $rocess re8uires
a$$ro+imately 2L o( turning Ethe di((erence in Crandtl:/eyer angles bet*een entrance and e+it /ach
numbersF hal( o( *hich is in*ard and the other hal( out*ard so that the out(lo* is $ractically a+ial at the
throat, thus ma+imising stream thrust. 'he /7C solution in (igure 1D is based on the section o( the co*l
in dra*ing 16 o( Blausey et al. 3264, scaled (or a radius o( <.5R
c
at the shock tra$ and e+tra$olated by
cubic s$line to the co*l li$ 1.462R
c
u$stream 3254 *ith the slo$e (orced to ?ero there. 'he s$ike contour
*as de)elo$ed simultaneously *ith the /7C solution, the shoulder is $laced *here the co*l shock
intersects the 1@L cone. an <.@R
c
conical section at 4.2L is added to $roduce a )ery *eak re(lected shock
gi)en the calculated streamline angle do*nstream o( the incident shock o( 4.1@L. 'he length is based on
)isual ins$ection, (igure 15 Eand counting ri)etsTF, but its (unction is to re(lect the com$ression generated
by the in*ard turning co*l thus enabling the (lo* to be redirected a+ially *ithout e+$ansion and the
estimated length is consistent *ith this su$$osed ob0ecti)e. ; constant $ressure section (ollo*s to
re$resent the slotted bleed sur(ace that is delineated in (igure 1D by the )ertical lines. ;lthough not strictly
necessary *hen using a $orous EslottedF co)er, (or ma+imum momentum reco)ery Eminimum bleed dragF
the bleed $lenum *ill o$erate at the ma+imum $ossible $ressure. 2ince this must be lo*er than the
minimum $ressure o)er the bleed sur(ace one *ould seek to $lace the bleed in a region o( constant
$ressure *hen $ossible. De(ining the bleed as a region o( constant $ressure is su((icient (or /7C to
de)elo$ the contour *hich turns in*ard under the in(luence o( com$ression (rom the co*l. 'he in*ard
turn o( the s$ike is terminated at :5L and therea(ter held constant until the translating s$ike meets its
su$$orting cylinder. 'he choice o( s$ike angle in the subsonic di((user is discussed *ith res$ect to o((
design o$eration in a (ollo*ing section.
Figure 19: Photographs taken at the USAF museum revealing: the (seemingly) conical section
downstream of the abrupt turn from 13!" t#e s$ikes s%&tte' (%ee'" an' t#e )&*%+s s#&)k t,a$ an'
mi)e-
;lthough not $ro)iding a $er(ect match *ith the measured $ressures, the in)iscid /7C solution *ith the
assumed contour results are close enough to gi)e con(idence in this inter$retation o( the design Eat least to
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 24 RTO-EN-AVT-185


the authorF. 'he duct area distribution a(ter an <.D62R
c
translation to its (or*ard $osition is also in
reasonable agreement *ith that (rom Bangert et al 32D4. ; )iscous solution along *ith some t*eaking o(
the s$ike and co*l contours *ould enable the $ressure and area measurements to be matched, but this is
unlikely to $ro)e more instructi)e and the e((ort there(ore un*arranted, es$ecially i( it is to be su$erseded
by release o( re$orts containing the actual contour.
4.9 B""(s :&ee$s an$ the sh"ck ta!
For the assumed intake geometry, right running characteristics merge as they a$$roach the a(t end o( the
bleed E(igure 1DF. 'hese *ill (orm a shock that *ill re(lect o(( the solid conical subsonic di((user, but as
the shock is *eak and the boundary layer thinned by the $orous bleed, the interaction *ill be slight and
con(ined. 'his is one (unction o( the s$ike bleed, its $rimary (unction *ould be to limit the e+tent o(
u$stream $ro$agation o( any se$aration caused by the much stronger terminal shock Ea $ressure ratio o(
2.= (or /ach 1.=F.
'he Jshock tra$K )isible as the (or*ard (acing slot in (igure 15 and sketched at the end o( the co*l contour
is a bleed ty$e credited by Cam$bell 32@4 to Luidens and Flaherty 3@24. 'hey de(ine it as Ja scoop bleed
with area e'pansion starting upstream of the leading edge of the scoopK. >+$ansion in the Blackbird
shock tra$ begins 1.Dh ahead o( the leading edge o( the scoo$ that is a distance h o(( the sur(ace 3264. 'he
$rimary (unction o( the shock tra$ is to remo)e the co*l boundary layer $rior to the terminal shock in the
subsonic di((user. ;t cruise, DN o( the intake air is ca$tured by the tra$ *ith a $ressure reco)ery o( <.2
3264 and ducted to the e0ector as $re)iously described. 'he tra$ $ressure reco)ery is e8ui)alent to 1@p1
*hich is consistent *ith the measured static $ressure near the tra$ (or p
+7
-p
+(
H<.D=. Gote that as $ressure
reco)ery is (orced abo)e this )alue Eby throttling the *ind tunnel model9s outletF a se$aration is $roduced
ahead o( the shock tra$ as e)ident by the increase in co*l static $ressures, (igure 1D. Bleed mass (lo* is
also reduced in this state 3264. 'his is an unstable situation that leads to unstart as the turbo0et must
s*allo* the e+tra mass *hich it can only do by increasing density and there(ore increasing back $ressure.
'he higher static $ressures on the (or*ard (acing sur(ace o( the co*l decreases the stream thrust as *ould
any increase in boundary layer mass (lo* entering the throat, and a decrease in stream thrust corres$onds
to a decrease in $otential $ressure reco)ery. 'he )irtues o( Concorde9s *ide bleed slot are a$$arent by
contrast, as it had the o$$osite and stable characteristic *ith an increase in back $ressure leading to an
increase in bleed mass (lo* *ithout disturbance on the u$stream ram$. 'his is not meant to im$ly that a
*ide bleed slot *ould ha)e been a better solution (or the 2R:1, the intakes o$erate under di((erent
constraints, but studies such as those by Lenyaert 31D4 and Blausey et al 3264 that de(ine the characteristics
o( di((erent bleed ty$es should bene(it (uture designs.
4.1; S!ike sche$(&e< ae"$5namic c"ntacti"n an$ mice
2$ike translation is scheduled *ith /ach number, ad0usted by small o((sets that are a (unction o( side sli$,
incidence, and normal acceleration 32@4. Figure 2< $resents mass ca$ture ratio, co*l li$ conditions and the
radius at *hich the internal shock *ould intersect the 1@L ray, *hen (ollo*ing the nominal, near linear,
s$ike schedule obtained (rom the (light manual Enoting that the s$ike ti$ is at 2.4<5R
c
at /ach @.2 32D4F.
During acceleration the internal shock intersects the s$ike do*nstream o( the shoulder, as demonstrated by
the right hand to$ (igure *hich indicates the theoretical radius at the intersection *ith a 1@4 ray is al*ays
greater than that at the shoulder. 'he e+$ansion o)er the shoulder at the lo*er (light /ach numbers
(ollo*ed by re:com$ression (rom the internal shock, clearly must create a stable interaction *ith the
boundary layer u$stream o( the bleed (lo*(ield. Cerha$s the dark bands )isible on the second conical
section o( the s$ike, (igure 15, are e)idence o( heat stress (rom such an interaction.
'he intake starts bet*een /ach 1.6 and 2.1 32@4 *ith the actual )alue $robably determined by engine
mass (lo* demand and there(ore de$endent on ambient tem$erature. 'he lo*est /ach number
corres$onds to shock attachment at the li$ as made clear by the bottom right $lot in (igure 2< in *hich the
conditions at the li$, determined (rom the 'aylor:/acoll e8uations, are com$ared *ith the angle (or shock
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 25


detachment (rom the Rankine:#ugoniot shock relations Eblack lineF. Gote the )ery large increase in
ca$ture area (rom <.42!
c
at /H1.6 to <.55!
c
at /H@.2, *hich suits the turbo0et, gi)en some (ine
ad0ustment using the by$asses as described $re)iously.
Figure 20: Calculated off design characteristics of the SR-71 intake (blue lines). The black line in
the bottom right is the deflection at shock detachment.
; real ad)antage o( this increase in ca$ture area is that it reduces the )ariation in throat area re8uired to
achie)e the necessary aerodynamic contraction. ;t /H@.2 isentro$ic com$ression to /ach 1 re8uires a
contraction o( =.12 *hereas at /H1.6 the )alue is 1.2=. 'he increase in ca$ture area reduces the re8uired
throat area )ariation in this hy$othetical, $er(ect, intake (rom a (actor o( 4.1 to 0ust 1.@, *hich is
mechanically (ar sim$ler to achie)e. 1n (act, the actual throat area at /H@.2 is =4N o( the area at /H1.6, a
(actor o( 1.D= 32@4.
Aith the (ull stroke o( the s$ike $rimarily determined by the /ach 1.6 and @.2 mass ca$ture re8uirements,
the throat area )ariation is obtained by choosing the right slo$e o( the s$ike in the subsonic di((user. 'he
combination o( a :5L conical di((user *ith an <.5R
c
radius at the shock tra$ entrance, allo*s the throat to
)ary bet*een <.41!
c
and <.22!
c
*ith an <.D62R
c
stroke. Aith throat geometry ha)ing im$osed a tight
constraint on the s$ike angle, subsonic di((usion rate must be controlled *ith the co*l contour in this
region. #o*e)er any (or*ard (acing sur(ace in a subsonic di((user reduces a+ial stream thrust Ethere is no
net radial com$onentF and this has the $otential to destabilise the terminal shock. Figure 15 re)eals that the
main co*l sur(ace in the subsonic di((user con)erges )ery slightly but this must ha)e been insu((icient to
com$ensate (or the ra$id increase in duct area due to the receding s$ike. 'he mice sol)ed the $roblem and
although this three dimensional a$$roach may ha)e been (orced by a need to retro(it, it might ha)e *ider
a$$lication, $articularly i( it *as (ound to be less destabilising then an a+isymmetric con)ergence.
1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
M#f
$
#
c
a
p
%
$
#
c
1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
M#f
M
#
l
i
p
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
3.0
a#lip, deg
M
#
l
i
p
1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2
0.745
0.750
0.755
0.760
0.765
0.770
0.775
0.780
0.785
M#f
r
#
s
h
o
c
k
%
-
#
c
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 26 RTO-EN-AVT-185


/ CONC4USIONS
;$$lied intake design is a great aerodynamic challenge, (rom determining the s$eci(ications that enable it
to best match the engine and aircra(t-missile, right to u$ the (inal stages in *hich (ine tuning is
accom$lished to com$ensate (or things that didn9t go 8uite to $lan. Creating a geometry that directs (lo*
e+actly *here one *ants it and in the state it needs to be, is made the more satis(ying by the (act that an
analytically based subtle change to a contour can ha)e a large e((ect in a com$ressi)e decelerating (lo*.
#o*e)er, esoteric intake studies are less re*arding than those *ith a$$lication, the basic design
techni8ues are *ell kno*n, and there already e+ists large, (reely a)ailable, databases o( *ind tunnel
e+$eriments on generic intakes. 1t is ho$ed that by (ocussing this lecture on some historic intakes, and
highlighting the (eatures that 1 think *ere critical to their o$eration the subtle beauty o( these de)ices and
the true accom$lishment o( their designers can be a$$reciated.
0 REFERENCES
314 2';FF ;' S#U:;CL, 1564, 8andbook of supersonic aerodynamics, section (,9 #ucts, no::les and
diffusers, G;IA>C2 re$ort 14DD, Iol. 6, a)ailable (rom D'1C as ;D61@<==.
324 'R7//2D7RFF A., 15=6, 8igh;velocity free;flying ram<et units =TR;Missiles2, #istory o( German
guided missiles de)elo$ment, ;G;RD First Guided /issiles 2eminar, /unich, Germany, ;$ril,
15=6.
3@4 72A;'1'2C# %, 1544, >ressure recovery for missiles with reaction propulsion at high supersonic
speeds =the efficiency of shock diffusers2, a)ailable (rom G'R2 as G;2;:'/:114<.
344 A";'' D., 15==, !nalysis of errors introduced by several methods of weighting nonuniform duct
flows, G;C;:'G:@4<<.
3=4 G7RD7G 2., and /cBR1D> B., 1554, $omputer program for calculation of comple' chemical
equilibrium compositions and applications, G;2;:RC:1@11.
364 2';FF ;' BR12'7L 21DDL>" >GG1G>2, 1561, ! survey of ram<et propulsion applications for
advanced missiles, B2>L re$ort @=4, a)ailable (rom U% Gational ;rchi)es as ;I1; 6=-2<@
34 #;A%1G2 R., 2<<4, 3ristol Ram<ets =part ?2, 2lee)e Gotes @D, Rolls Royce #eritage 'rust.
3D4 /;#7G>" S., 1551, Inlets for supersonic missiles, ;1;; >ducation series.
354 /;22>" B., 15D5, Mechanics of fluids, Cha$man and #all.
31<4 ;GDR>A2 >., and /;C%L>" >., 1554, !"!@s 8ypersonic Research &ngine >ro<ect; ! Review,
G;2;:'/:1<=5.
3114 ;iR>2>;RC# 2';FF, 1566, 8R& pro<ect, phase (, $onceptual #esign "tudy report, Aol.;(,
G;2;:CR:66221.
3124 C>;R27G L., 1565, 8R& pro<ect, phase 7!, Inlet program, final technical data report, G;2;:CR:
665.
31@4 ;GDR>A2 >., and /;C%L>" >., 156, !nalyses of e'perimental results of the inlet for the nasa
hypersonic research engine aerothermodynamic integration model, G;2;:'/V:@@6=.
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 27


3144 R>''1> 1., and L>A12 A., 156D, #esign and #evelopment of an !ir Intake for a "upersonic
Transport !ircraft, ;1;; S. o( ;ircra(t, Iol. =, Go. 6, $$ =1@:=21.
31=4 F12#>R 2., 156, Tests at Mach (.)(B on an air intake proposed for $oncord, Gational Gas 'urbine
>stablishment, Re$ort Go. R.25<, a)ailable (rom U% Gational ;rchi)es as D21R 2@-@=@4@.
3164 BR"C> S., and C7C%1GG B., 156D, "ome effects of Reynolds number on the performance of an air
intake for $oncorde, Gational Gas 'urbine >stablishment, Re$ort Go. R.@<4, a)ailable (rom U%
Gational ;rchi)es as D21R 2@-@14.
314 ;G7G, 15D, $ages (rom 2UD re$ort C @5, a)ailable (rom U% Gational ;rchi)es as FI 2-1<52.
31D4 L>"G;>R', S., -onctionnement du peige a couche limite interne d@une prise d@air a compression
supersonique e'terne, ;G;RDogra$h, Go. 1<@, 7ctober 156=.
3154 ;G7G, 2<<2, $oncorde structural repair manual, 2er)ice Bulletin List, ;irbus U%.
32<4 ;G7G, 156@, >roposal for surfacing an CRI prototype as cover for the %D$!RT program, C1;
/emo, htt$,--***.(oia.cia.go)-docs-D7CY<<<<2@5@D@.
3214 ;G7G, 156D, %D$!RT !;(7 aircraft e'perience data and systems reliability, C1; Re$ort,
htt$,--***.(oia.cia.go)-docs-D7CY<<<142<2<.
3224 S7#G27G C, 156D, 8istory of the %D$!RT program, Lockheed ;DC re$ort 2C:1@62,
htt$,--***.(oia.cia.go)-docs-D7CY<<<14=D6@5
32@4 C;/CB>LL D., 15@, -; (7 series aircraft propulsion system performance and development,
;1;;:@:D21.
3244 BURC#;/ F., #7LZ/;G S. and R>U%;UF C., 15@, >reliminary results of flight tests of the
propulsion system of a E-; (7 airplane at Mach numbers to F.+, ;1;;:@:1@14.
32=4 ;G7G, 15D6, "R;,(! -light manual, issue >, 2R:1.org, also !;(7 -light Manual,
htt$,--***.(oia.cia.go)-docs-D7CY<<<1@164=.
3264 BL;U2>" G., C7L>/;G D., and #;RC D., 152, -easibility study of inlet shock stability system
of E-;(7, G;2;:CR:1@4=54.
324 S7#G27G #., and /7G'7"; >., 15@, Cocal flow measurements at the inlet spike tip of a Mach F
supersonic cruise airplane, G;2;:'GD:65D.
32D4 B;GG>R' L., F>L'Z >., G7DB" L. and /1LL>R L., 15D1, !erodynamic and !coustic 3ehavior
of a E-;(7 Inlet at "tatic $onditions, G;2;:CR:16@1<6.
3254 DU2'1G /., C7L> G., and G>1G>R G., 154, $ontinuous ;output terminal ;shock ;position sensor
for mi'ed;compression inlets evaluated in wind tunnel tests of E-;(7 aircraft inlet, G;2;:'/V:
@144.
3@<4 C7GG>R2 '., 155, >redicted >erformance of a Thrust;&nhanced "R;,( !ircraft with an &'ternal
>ayload, G;2;:'/:1<4@@<.
3@14 GR;#;/ R., 1556, "R;,( Revealed9 The inside story, Zenith Cress.
Ramjet Intakes
5 - 28 RTO-EN-AVT-185


3@24 LU1D>G2 R and FL;#>R'" R., 15=D, Gse of a shock;trap bleed to improve pressure recovery of
fi'ed; and variable;capture;area internal contraction inletsH Mach number 7.+ to F.+, G;C;:R/:
>=DD24.
Ramjet Intakes
RTO-EN-AVT-185 5 - 29


Ramjet Intakes
5 - 30 RTO-EN-AVT-185