Development of a coupled supersonic inlet-fan Navier–Stokes simulation method

A coupled supersonic inlet-fan Navier–Stokes simulation method was developed by using COMSOL-CFD code. The flow turning, pressure rise and loss effects across blade rows of the fan and the inlet-fan interactions were taken into account as source terms of the governing equations without a blade geometry by a body force model. In this model, viscous effects in blade passages can also be calculated directly, which include the exchange of momentum between fluids and detailed viscous flow close to walls. NASA Rotor 37 compressor test rig was used to validate the ability of the body force model to estimate the real performance of blade rows. Calculated pressure ratio characteristics and the distribution of the total pressure, total temperature, and swirl angle in the span direction agreed well with experimental and numerical data. It is shown that the body force model is a promising approach for predicting the flow field of the turbomachinery. Then, coupled axisymmetric mixed compression supersonic inlet-fan simulations were conducted at Mach number 2.8 operating conditions. The analysis includes coupled steady-state performance, and effects of the fan on the inlet. The results indicate that the coupled simulation method is capable of simulating behavior of the supersonic inlet-fan system.