https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-01936-x
Regular Article
Insights into the aerodynamic performance of double serpentine nozzles
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, 208016, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
a
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Received:
27
July
2025
Accepted:
5
September
2025
Published online:
17
September
2025
Abstract
Serpentine nozzles are widely used in stealth fighter aircraft to mitigate radar and infrared signatures, enhancing survivability. This study presents computational fluid dynamic (CFD) investigations of a double serpentine convergent nozzle under realistic turbofan conditions, accounting for core and bypass flow interaction, along with struts, and with and without aft-deck configurations. It is observed that the inclusion of an aft-deck consistently improves exit flow alignment and suppresses plume distortion, resulting in improved aerodynamic efficiency and infrared (IR) reduction. Moreover, increasing the nozzle curvature leads to reduced acceleration, lower pressure gradients, and increased flow uniformity illustrating the complexity associated with compact, highly curved serpentine geometries. The configurations with the aft-deck achieve improved discharge coefficients (
–0.97) and gross flow thrust coefficients (
–0.95), demonstrating reduced internal losses and improved thrust recovery. In summary, among all configurations, the nozzle with optimized curvature and integrated with aft-deck provides better aerodynamic efficiency.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
