Influence of the External Flow Conditions to the Jet-Vectoring Performances of a SVC Nozzle

The application of Shock Vector Control to the thrust vectoring of supersonic nozzles is investigated numerically. The thrust vectoring is here obtained by the transverse mass flow injection from a slot located, close to the nozzle outlet. This flow manipulation generates an asymmetry of the nozzle wall pressure distributions, and, therefore, the desired side-loads. Present investigation focuses on the SVC performances when the nozzle discharge ambient is different from the calm air. The interaction of the nozzle core flow under active manipulation and an external flow characterized by a prescribed Mach number have been simulated by using CFD tools. The analysis has been carried out for external flow Mach number Me ranging from 0 to 1.5 . Three different geometries of the external nozzle geometry have been take into consideration. The numerical results obtained show a large variability of the thrust angle with respect to the external Mach number. The interactions between the internal and external flows give rise to very complex flow patterns, characterized by very different evolutions if the external flow is subsonic or supersonic.