Study of Thrust-Vectoring Control Using Fluidic Counterflow Concept

Fluidic Counterflow 개념을 이용한 추력벡터제어에 관한 연구

The thrust vector control using a fluidic counterflow concept is achieved by applying a vacuum to a slot adjacent to a primary jet which is shrouded by a suction collar. The vacuum produces a secondary reverse flowing stream near the primary jet. The shear layers between the two counterflowing streams mix and entrain mass from the surrounding fluid. The presence of the collar inhibits mass entrainment and the flow near the collar accelerates causing a drop in pressure on the collar. For the vacuum asymmetrically applied to one side of the nozzle, the jet will vector toward the low-pressure region. The present study is performed to investigate the effectiveness of thrust vector control using the fluidic counterflow concept. A computational work is carried out using the two-dimensional, compressible Navier-Stokes equations, with several kinds of turbulence models. The computational results are compared with the previous experimental ones. It is found that the present fluidic counterflow concept is a viable method to vector the thrust of a propulsion system.