Characterization of a supersonic mixed-compression air intake at high back pressures

The back pressure rise in a supersonic air intake could affect the engine performance and, in extreme conditions, result in a catastrophic unstart phenomenon. The present study compares different back pressure states that occur during an unstart of a mixed-compression air intake at Mach 3 using a fast-response pressure-sensitive paint, with an emphasis on the isolator flow. At low back pressure, the isolator dynamics is strongly correlated with the unsteadiness around the external compression corner. At high back pressure, a normal shock train dictates the isolator flowfield from its leading shock foot downstream. At the onset of unstart, an oblique shock train transpires involving large-scale flow separation, boundary layer thickening, and mitigated unsteadiness at the isolator floor. Like in previous studies, the prominence of low-frequency unsteadiness and upstream wave propagation is observed at high back pressure. However, in addition, the present study shows strong upstream communication of back pressure in a narrow frequency band through acoustic mechanisms, that eventually leads to the intake unstart. At the onset of unstart, the prominent frequency varies linearly along the isolator length, matching closely with the half-wave resonator model. Suppressing the oscillations at the preferred frequencies could be a promising control strategy to mitigate or delay intake unstart. When the intake unstarts, a 3D bifurcated shock stands at the inlet and the unsteady flow spillage takes place around oblique shocks off the sidewalls at low frequencies.