Analysis of Viscous Flowfield Over Tactical Aircraft Forebody and Inlets

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Abstract
As the performance requirements of advanced tactical aircraft increase and additional design constraints are imposed, the integration of the engine-airframe becomes critical because it is difficult to provide efficient external aerodynamics, low drag and high maneuverability along with high quality internal flow (i.e high thrust, adequate engine stall margin). To identify or provide warnings about the nonlinear detrimental flow interaction effects associated with engine inlet flow rate, inlet geometry, forebody shape and integration, a computational methodology has been developed to augment the engine-airframe integration process. This paper discusses the use of this methodology to investigate the flow field of the F/A-18 forebody, the X-31A inlet, the YF-16 inlet and the integrated forebody-inlet flow of the YF-16. First, a discussion of the preprocessor will be presented which prepares the input grid for the flow solver and generates a graphic display of the model for viewing examination. Second, the solution methodology of the governing equation is discussed. Finally, four configurations were analyzed, namely the F/A-18 forebody, X-31A inlet, YF-16 inlet and the YF-16 integrated forebody-inlet with results presented utilizing a post-processor.
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