A computational method tailored for the simulation of fluidic thrust-vectoring systems is employed to investigate the dynamic response of a dual-throat nozzle in open- and closed-loop control. Thrust vectoring in fixed, symmetric nozzles is obtained by secondary flow injections that cause local flow separations, asymmetric pressure distributions, and, as a consequence, the vectoring of primary jet flow. The computational technique is based on a well-assessed mathematical model for the compressible unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. A minimal control system governs the unsteady blowing. Nozzle performances and thrust-vector angles have been computed for a wide range of nozzle pressure ratios and secondary flow injection rates. The numerical results are compared with the experimental data available in the open literature. Several computations of the open-loop dynamics of the nozzle under different forcing have been performed to investigate the system response in terms of thrust-vectoring effectiveness and controllability. These computations have been used to extract autoregressive exogenous models of the nozzle dynamics. The effects of including the actuator dynamics are also discussed. Simple strategies of closed-loop control of the nozzle system by proportional–integrative–derivative regulators are investigated numerically. The closed-loop model predictive control of the system, based on the autoregressive exogenous models, is addressed.

A time-marching throughflow method for the off-design performance analysis of axial compressors is described. The method is based on the Euler equations, and a new inviscid blade force model is proposed in order to achieve desired flow deflection. The flow discontinuity problems at the leading and trailing edges are tackled by automatic correction of blade mean surface using cubic spline interpolation. Empirical loss models have been integrated into the throughflow model in order to simulate the viscous force effects in the real three-dimensional flow. Two test cases have been presented to validate the throughflow model, including the transonic fan rotor – NASA Rotor 67 working at a near-peak-efficiency point and a 1.5-stage high-speed axial compressor with inlet guide vane operating at 68% nominal speed. Reasonable flow parameters distributions have been obtained in the Rotor 67 fan calculating results, and accurate overall performance characteristics have also been predicted at the strong off-design condition for the 1.5-stage axial compressor. The CPU time of both cases cost less than one minute at one operating point. The results indicate that the developed time-marching throughflow model is effective and efficient in the turbomachinery performance analysis.

The application of the Shock Vector Control (SVC) approach to an axysimmetric supersonic nozzle is studied numerically. SVC is a Fluidic Thrust Vectoring (FTV) strategy that is applied to fixed nozzles in order to realize jet-vectoring effects normally obtained by deflecting movable nozzles. In the SVC method, a secondary air flow injection close to the nozzle exit generates an asymmetry in the wall pressure distribution and side-loads on the nozzle, which are also lateral components of the thrust vector. SVC forcing of the axisymmetric nozzle generates fully three-dimensional flows with very complex structures that interact with the external flow. In the present work, the experimental data on a nozzle designed and tested for a supersonic cruise aircraft are used for validating the numerical tool at different flight Mach numbers and nozzle pressure ratios. Then, an optimal position for the slot is sought and the fully 3D flow at flight Mach number $M_{\infty }=0.9$ is investigated numerically for different values of the SVC forcing.

Aerospike nozzles represent an interesting solution for Single-Stage-To-Orbit or clustered launchers owing to their self-adapting capability, which can lead to better performance compared to classical nozzles. Furthermore, they can provide thrust vectoring in several ways. A simple solution consists of applying differential throttling when multiple combustion chambers are used. An alternative solution is represented by fluidic thrust vectoring, which requires the injection of a secondary flow from a slot. In this work, the flow field in a linear aerospike nozzle was investigated numerically and both differential throttling and fluidic thrust vectoring were studied. The flow field was predicted by solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The thrust vectoring performance was evaluated in terms of side force generation and axial force reduction. The effectiveness of fluidic thrust vectoring was investigated by changing the mass flow rate of secondary flow and injection location. The results show that the response of the system can be non-monotone with respect to the mass flow rate of the secondary injection. In contrast, differential throttling provides a linear behaviour but it can only be applied to configurations with multiple combustion chambers. Finally, the effects of different plug truncation levels are discussed.