WAVERIDER DESIGN WITH GIVEN LEADING-EDGE SHAPE FROM AXISYMMETRIC FLOW

Drawing on the cone-derived waverider design method, this study established an axisymmetric flow-based given leading-edge waverider design method. By taking the leading-edge of the waverider as input with an arc-shape inlet capture curve (ICC), a predetermined shock surface was generated for axisymmetric body. Employing the inverse method of characteristics (iMoC) for axisymmetric flow computation while enhancing streamline tracing efficiency through quadtree spatial partitioning, the customized leading-edge waveriders using the axisymmetric flows with different rotational axes are designed. Taking a double-swept waverider with wing anhedral as baseline leading-edge shape, the effect of the rotational axes offset distance on the waverider performance was analyzed. Results shows that customized leading-edge waveriders generated from the axisymmetric flows with different rotational axes featured high lift-to-drag ratio, showing strong correlation between lift-to-drag ratio and volume ratio. The shock wave positions in their flow fields were nearly identical, indicating promising wave-riding performance. When the rotational axes offset distance increased, the longitudinal stability of the corresponding waveriders decreased. Under off-design conditions, the lift-to-drag ratio and longitudinal stability of the waverider vary slightly with Mach number in the hypersonic regime, and maintain promising wave-riding performance when the Mach number is greater than the design Mach number. While the waverider design given leading-edge shape from axisymmetric flow expands the waverider design space, it is limited by the inherent constraints of the iMoC and axisymmetric flow properties, which restricts the applicable leading-edge shapes. The present method cannot accurately generate sharp-nosed or large-sweep-angle configurations, thus necessitating further research to improve this approach.