Numerical Investigations of the Effects of Sidewall Compression and Relaminarization in 3D Scramjet Inlet

This paper presents the numerical simulations and performance analysis of a 3D scramjet inlet with focus on the effects of sidewall compression and relaminarization. A well-validated �finite volume flow solver was used to simulate a scramjet inlet with a double ramp configuration for outer compression and varying degrees of sidewall compression. The computed wall pressure and heat transfer in the symmetry plane are in close agreement with the measurements and numerical results indicate that sidewall compression alters the inlet performance significantly. The effects of relaminarization over the expansion corner prior to the interior part of the inlet is isolated and studied in both experiment and simulation.