"Speed" wrote:

My apologies if this is the wrong group. Please direct me to the right
one if it is.

I'm a mechanical engineering student who is interested in how the
intake system works on the SR-71. I've seen many articles on the
internet that mention it briefly, and give a simplified explanation,
but that's not what I'm looking for.

I'm looking for an explanation/description that's geared towards
someone who has a degree in mechanical engineering with a concentration
in compressible flow. If anyone could tell me of a place to find a
good technical description, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

--CS


Craig,

You might post your question to rec.aviation.military. Also, the
moderated newsgroup sci.aeronautics could prove helpful if you have
specific technical questions about the J58 inlet design.

Here is an article supplement from the Smithsonian's Air & Space
magazine detailing the J58 inlet,

http://www.airandspacemagazine.com/A...99/oxcart.html

If you search the NACA technical report server
(http://naca.larc.nasa.gov/) you'll find a number of technical reports
detailing the aerodynamics of supersonic spike diffuser inlets. Here
are some suggested search phrases,

supersonic inlet
supersonic conical inlet
supersonic spike inlet
translating spike supersonic inlet

Lastly, you could search the NASA technical report server using
similar search terms, http://ntrs.nasa.gov/

The NACA and NASA technical report servers sometimes return nothing or
refuse connection when demand is high. In such a case, just come back
later.

Have fun,

David O -- http://www.AirplaneZone.com