Smart Mesoflaps Active Transpiration (SMAT) systems to control shock/boundary layer interaction in supersonic inlets

Objectives

On the computational side (which involves Prof. Loth, Tortorelli and Geubelle), the objectives of this project can be summarized as follows:

develop a robust aeroelastic code to simulate the aeroelastic response of the novel mesoflap system;
incorporate the complex mechanical response of the smart mesoflaps which are made of shape memory alloy (SMA);
validate and improve the aeroelastic code through detailed comparison of the numerical results with experimental observations obtained from the literature and by the rest of the group;
combine the aeroelastic code with recent advances in finite element based optimization studies.

Method description

Graduate student involved in the computational part of the SMAT project

Brett Wood

Sandra Hartman

Jin Young Kim

Illustrative results

Description of the finite element mesh used in the loosely coupled aeroelastic simulations

The following figure illustrates the velocity field (presented in term of Mach contours) in the fluid domain in the vicinity of the recirculation cavity. The flow above the cavity is supersonic, with a Mach number equal to 2.5. The flaps deform aeroelastically due to the pressure loading associated with the supersonic flow (going from left to right above the cavity), creating a recirculation which in turn, reduces the thickness of the boundary layer.

Mach contour computed in the vicinity of the recirculation cavity located below the aeroelastically deforming mesoflaps. The mesoflaps are made of a conventional aluminum alloy.