Effect of Axial Location on the Performance of a Control Jet in a Supersonic Cross Flow

Control jets injected into a supersonic flow cause a significant region of separated flow over the parent vehicle in the vicinity of injection. This altered external flow contributes to an additional force on the vehicle in addition to the jet thrust thereby effecting its performance. In this study, numerical simulations were carried out to estimate the effect of injection location and body attitude on the overall performance of a Reaction Control System jet in producing a control force. Commercial CFD software was used to solve the 3D RANS equations using the SST-k\(\omega \) turbulence model. It is seen that favourable interaction results from injection at rearward locations and positive angles of attack whereas injection from forward locations and negative angles of attack results in an adverse interaction.