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Drag reduction on a spiked body at hypersonic speed

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2016

G. d’Humières  and
J. L. Stollery
G. d’Humières
Affiliation:
guillaume.dhumieres@ecl2009.ec-lyon.fr, School of Engineering, Cranfield University, Bedford, UK
J. L. Stollery
Affiliation:
j.l.stollery@cranfield.ac.uk
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Abstract

Fitting a spike on a blunt body provides a drag reduction at supersonic and hypersonic speeds. In this study, the laminar flow over a spiked, conical body terminated by a spherical cap, inspired by the Apollo re-entry capsule design, was investigated using a hypersonic wind tunnel. Schlieren pictures revealed the absence of flow unsteadiness for the range of spike lengths tested, and force measurements showed a maximum reduction of 77% of the unspiked body drag.

A simple theoretical model based on the pressure drag generated by a solid cone showed good agreement with the experimental data. The measured shock stand-off distance agreed well with predictions.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 114 , Issue 1152 , February 2010 , pp. 113 - 119
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2010 

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