Shock tunnel study of spiked aerodynamic bodies flying at hypersonic Mach numbers

A three-component accelerometer balance system is used to study the drag reduction effect of an aerodisc on large angle blunt cones flying at hypersonic Mach numbers. Measurements in a hypersonic shock tunnel at a freestream Mach number of 5.75 indicate more than 50% reduction in the drag coefficient for a 120° apex angle blunt cone with a forward facing aerospike having a flat faced aerodisc at moderate angles of attack. Enhancement of drag has been observed for higher angles of attack due to the impingement of the flow separation shock on the windward side of the cone. The flowfields around the large angle blunt cone with aerospike assembly flying at hypersonic Mach numbers are also simulated numerically using a commercial CFD code. The pressure and density levels on the model surface, which is under the aerodynamic shadow of the flat disc tipped spike, are found very low and a drag reduction of 64.34% has been deduced numerically.     

Flow past blunt bodies with nose spikes and surface injection

Axisymmetric supersonic ideal-gas flow past a blunt body with a forward-projecting spike is numerically investigated with allowance for injection from the surface. The effect of the length and shape of the spike, the parameters of the injected gas and the position of the permeable zone on the flow pattern and drag is studied.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 128–133, July–August, 1987.     

Numerical heat transfer study around a spiked blunt-nose body at Mach 6

An aerospike attached to a blunt body significantly alters its flowfield and influences aerodynamic drag at high speeds. The dynamic pressure in the recirculation area is highly reduced and this leads to the decrease in the aerodynamic drag. Consequently, the geometry of the aerospike has to be simulated in order to obtain a large conical recirculation region in front of the blunt body to get beneficial drag reduction. Axisymmetric compressible Navier–Stokes equations are solved using a finite volume discretization in conjunction with a multistage Runge–Kutta time stepping scheme. The effect of the various types of aerospike configurations on the reduction of aerodynamic drag is evaluated numerically at a length to diameter ratio of 0.5, at Mach 6 and at a zero angle of incidence. The computed density contours are showing satisfactory agreement with the schlieren pictures. The calculated pressure distribution on the blunt body compares well with the measured pressure data on the blunt body. Flowfield features such as formation of shock waves, separation region and reattachment point are examined for the flat-disc spike and on the hemispherical disc spike attached to the blunt body. One of the critical heating areas is at the stagnation point of a blunt body, where the incoming hypersonic flow is brought to rest by a normal shock and adiabatic compression. Therefore, the problem of computing the heat transfer rate near the stagnation point needs a solution of the entire flowfield from the shock to the spike body. The shock distance ahead of the hemisphere and the flat-disc is compared with the analytical solution and a good agreement is found between them. The influence of the shock wave generated from the spike is used to analyze the pressure distribution, the coefficient of skin friction and the wall heat flux facing the spike surface to the flow direction.     

Experimental demonstration of a new concept of drag reduction and thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles

A new idea of drag reduction and thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles is proposed based on the combination of a physical spike and lateral jets for shockreconstruction. The spike recasts the bow shock in front of a blunt body into a conical shock, and the lateral jets work to protect the spike tip from overheating and to push the conical shock away from the blunt body when a pitching angle exists during flight. Experiments are conducted in a hypersonic wind tunnel at a nominal Mach number of 6. It is demonstrated that the shock/shock interaction on the blunt body is avoided due to injection and the peak pressure at the reattachment point is reduced by 70% under a 4° attack angle.     

Circulation flow at the front surface of a sphere in a supersonic wake

Several theoretical and experimental studies of supersonic flow past a blunt body located in the wake behind another body have been made [1–7]. It has been shown that a reverse-circulation flow can occur in the shock layer at the front surface. The possibility of such a flow forming depends on the nonuniformity of the freestream flow and the Reynolds number. This paper presents new results of the theoretical study of the structure of the shock wave at the front surface of such a sphere, obtained on the basis of numerical solution of Navier-Stokes equations. It is shown that for a fixed nonuniformity of the freestream flow, an increase in the Reynolds number and cooling of the surface of the body lead to the formation of a secondary vortex in the region where the contour of the body intersects the axis of symmetry. A study is made of the variations of the drag and heat transfer parameters over the front surface of a cooled and thermally insulated sphere. The possibility of numerical simulation of the flow on the basis of the Euler equations is discussed.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 143–148, May–June, 1985.     

Experimental Study of Supersonic Flow Around Truncated Cones at Incidence

Results of an experimental study of supersonic flow around truncated cones with cone half-angles of 20, 30, and 40°, performed at Mach numbers M = 2, 3, and 4 within the range of angles of attack up to 20°, are presented. A relationship is established between the emergence of an internal shock wave and the character of pressure distribution along the generatrix of the truncated cone. It is shown that the known boundaries of regimes obtained for axisymmetric flow around sharp and blunt cones can be used to predict flow regimes in the vertical plane of symmetry of the truncated cone at incidence.     

Slender axisymmetric cavities in a supersonic flow

Slender axisymmetric cavities in a subsonic flow of compressible fluid were investigated in [1–4]. In [5] a finite-difference method was used to calculate the drag coefficient of a circular cone, near which the shape of the cavity was determined for subsonic, transonic, and supersonic water flows; however, in the supersonic case the entire shape of the cavity was not determined. Here, on the basis of slender body theory an integrodifferential equation is obtained for the profile of the cavity in a supersonic flow. The dependence of the cavity elongation on the cavitation number and the Mach number is determined.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 179–181, January–February, 1989.     

Dynamic force balances for short-duration hypersonic testing facilities

Two force balance techniques for use in hypersonic impulse facilities are compared by measuring the drag force on a 30° semi-apex-angle blunt cone model in a hypersonic shock tunnel at a free stream Mach number of 5.75. An accelerometer-based balance and a stress-wave force balance were tested simultaneously on the same model to measure the drag force. It was found that drag force measurements could be made using both techniques in a flow with a 450-s test period. The measured drag forces compared well with the theoretical values estimated using Newtonian theory.     

Aerodynamic force measurement using 3-component accelerometer force balance system in a hypersonic shock tunnel

A new three-component accelerometer force balance has been designed, calibrated and tested in hypersonic shock tunnel (HST2) of Indian Institute of Science. The newly designed balance is able to measure aerodynamic forces (within test time of one millisecond) on test models at angles of attack from 0 to 12°. Two models, a blunt cone with after body and a blunt cone with after body and frustum are used to establish the accuracy of the force balance. The tests were conducted for the above two configurations with a constant Mach number of 8 and total enthalpy of 2.0 MJ/kg. The effectiveness of the balance is demonstrated by comparing the forces and moments of measured data with AGARD models. The flow fields around the test model are simulated using a 3D axisymmetric Navier–Stokes solver and the simulated results were compared with the measured values. Measured and computed force data are matched within ±10% for two different models tested here. The accuracy of the force balance is also estimated with the Newtonian theory and the values are approximately ±10% for the axial component and ±8% for the normal and pitching moment components.      

带喷流激波针流动特性实验研究

采用动态测力、动态测压和纹影等风洞实验技术,对加装了带喷流激波针的钝头体的绕流特性、稳定和非稳模态的形成条件和机理进行了研究.结果表明:带喷流激波针流场存在稳态和非稳态两种模态,超声速喷流的压比大于临界压比时流动处于稳定模态,反之则为非稳模态;增大激波针长度可减小钝头体阻力,但达到一定长度后,进一步减阻的效果不再显著;增大喷流压比能够有效减弱再附激波强度,有利于缓解单独激波针的肩部热斑问题;非稳模态下波系自激振荡对再附激波在钝头体表面所围的区域影响剧烈,振荡是周期性的,且存在确定的主导频率,主导频率随喷流压力比增大而减小;自激振荡的产生是由于喷流出口周围的反压在喷流压比小于临界压比时无法获得持续的平衡而导致.      

Interaction between an external compression shock and a blunt body in a hypersonic stream

A complex shock configuration with two triple points can occur during the interaction between an external oblique compression shock and the detached shock ahead of a blunt body (for instance, ahead of a wing or stabilizer edge). This results in the formation of a high-pressure, low-entropy supersonic gas jet [1–6]. Here two flow modes are possible [1], which differ substantially in the intensity of the thermal and dynamic effects of the stream on the blunt body: mode I corresponds to the impact of a supersonic jet [2–6], while the supersonic jet in mode II does not reach the body surface in the domain of shock interaction because of curvature under the effect of a pressure drop. Conditions for the realization of the above-mentioned flow modes are investigated experimentally and theoretically, and an approximate method is proposed to determine the magnitude of the compression shock standoff in the interaction domain. Blunt bodies with plane and cylindrical leading edges are examined. The results of a computation agree satisfactorily with experimental data.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 97–103, January–February, 1976.The author is grateful to V. V. Lunev for discussing the research and for useful remarks.     

Supersonic flow past a blunt wedge

A study is made of the asymptotic solution of the problem of flow past a blunt wedge by a uniform supersonic stream of perfect gas. By separation of variables it is shown that at large distances the disturbance of the flow is damped exponentially. In the case of subsonic flow behind the shock wave the exponent of the leading correction term in the expansion of the shock front is calculated.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 137–140, July–August, 1984.     

Investigation of Aerodynamic Drag of Two Bodies in Trans‐ and Supersonic Flows

Results of experimental investigations of trans or supersonic flow around two bodies (cone–disk or sphere–disk) connected by a cylindrical rod along the axis of symmetry are presented. The special features of the flow are analyzed. It is found that the dependence of the drag coefficient C_x of a pair of bodies on the Mach number within the range 0.6 M 1.7 is nonmonotonic. The reasons for the hysteresis in the dependences C_x(M) for two bodies at the stages of flow acceleration and deceleration and discrete variation of the Mach number are clarified. The influence of cone angles and sizes of both bodies on the drag coefficient is estimated.     

Numerical analysis of heat transfer on the surface of a delta wing in a hypersonic air flow at large angles of attack

The heat transfer on a delta wing with blunt edges and various catalytic surface properties in a hypersonic air flow at 40 ° and 60 ° angles of attack has been investigated by a numerical flow model for a viscous reacting gas in the shock layer near the windward side of blunt elongated bodies.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 196–199, September–October, 1984.     

Experimental investigation of flow over sharp cones with near-critical and supercritical vertex angle

This paper presents results of an experimental investigation of supersonic flow over sharp cones with near-critical and supercritical semivertex angles. The authors have determined the drag coefficients and the shock position at supersonic flow velocities corresponding to M = 4.0 over a range of cone semivertex angles from 40 to 130 °, at angle of attack = 0. The experimental drag coefficients are compared with available theoretical values, obtained using both exact and approximate methods of calculation. The experimentally obtained position of the attached shock wave is compared with theory, derived by the method of integral relations in the first approximation.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 195–198, March–April, 1978.The authors thank G. E. Sidel'nikov for his help in processing the experimental data by means of his computer program.     

Supersonic flow over a cone with heat release in the neighborhood of the apex

Supersonic flow over a cone mounted in the wake of a spherical source of heat release is investigated. The free-stream nonuniformity generated by the source leads to effective drag reduction.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No.2, pp. 110–114, March–April, 1993.     

Effect of dust content of the flow on test results in hypersonic wind tunnels

The nature and character of the effect of dust content of the working flow of hypersonic wind tunnels on the results of aerodynamic tests are considered. It is shown that dustiness causes an increase of the drag of slender models and, conversely, a decrease of the drag and damping coefficient of the longitudinal moment of blunt models.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 187–189, July–August, 1970.     

Parameters determining the shape of the subsonic section of a shock wave in the case of axisymmetric flow

Supersonic flow around a blunt body by an ideal gas with a constant specific heat ratio is considered. The dependence of the geometry of the subsonic section of the shock wave on the shape of the body and the freestream Mach number is studied. Analysis of the large quantity of numerical data has permitted simple approximate relations to be formulated for the principal geometrical parameters of the wave, which can be used for solving the problem of flow around a quite broad class of bodies. The question of the characteristic dimensions in such problems is also discussed.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 77–83, July–August, 1976.In conclusion, the author expresses his thanks to V. N. Ivanova for carrying out the calculations and to é. é. Shnol' for for several useful comments.     

Experimental study of the flow past entry vehicles with jet-controlled aerodynamic characteristics

A comprehensive aerodynamical investigation of the flow past entry vehicles with spherical segment/backward-facing cone geometry has made it possible to evaluate the efficiency of various active techniques of retrorocket deceleration, to obtain the relationships for calculating the drag force, to establish the salient features of the flow patterns encountered, to reveal their effect on the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle, and to determine the ranges of stable flow.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 115–125, May–June, 1996.     

Investigation of flow past blunt bodies with allowance for radiation by the large-particle method

Much recent work has been done on developing methods of solving gas-dynamic problems in which radiation plays a part (see, for example, [1–7]). This is because the temperature in the shock layer associated with flight in the atmosphere at hypersonic velocities can reach values exceeding 10⁴ °K. In such a case, heat transfer by radiation can make an important contribution to the total heat transfer. With increasing flight velocities, the importance of radiation in heat transfer increases and then becomes predominant. In the present paper, the large-particle method as developed by Belotserkovskii and Davydov [8] is developed to calculate flows with radiation around blunt bodies, including the case when there is distributed blowing from the surface of the bodies into the shock layer, which simulates ablation of a heat-shielding covering under the influence of strong heating by radiation. The results are given of systematic calculations of flow past blunt bodies of various shapes by a stream of radiating air, and the results are compared with the data of other methods.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 106–112, July–August, 1982.