Heat transfer at a wedge in a hypersonic low-density gas stream

Results are presented of an approximate analysis of steady heat transfer on a sharp thin (sin < 1) strongly cooled (t_w 1) wedge, washed by a hypersonic (M 1) gas stream at zero angle of attack under almost free-molecule conditions. Dimensionless parameters on which the heat transfer depends have been established; approximate formulas for estimation purposes are given.The present analysis is not a rigorous quantitative theory and its results should be regarded only as estimates; its conclusions may be useful for experimental planning and for generalization of test data. The method used here is analogous to that applied in 1] in analyzing flow over a flat plate.