Calculation and comparison of forward/backward swept sidewall compression scramjet inlets

Configurations of sidewall and location of cowl have significant influence on the performance of sidewall-compression scramjet inlets.A series of numerical simulation are completed with the variation of flight height,Mach number and cowl position for forward and backward swept sidewall compression inlets.Compared with backward swept sidewall compression inlets,inlets with forward leading edges display better performances,demonstrated by higher mass capture ratio and static pressure raise,as well as more uniform out-let flow field.The results indicate that the differences are more obvious at low flight Mach number when the cowl is backward located.Mass capture ratio of forward-swept inlet is 7.7% higher than that of backward-swept inlet at Ma 4;however,the difference decrease to 2.6% when the inflow Mach number increases to Ma 8.