An investigation of a wave-rider at low Reynolds numbers
- Paper ID
IAF-70-14
- author
- company
Deutsche Forschung- und Versuchsanstalt für Luft-und Raumfahrt, Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt Göttingen
- country
Germany
- year
1970
- abstract
The calculation of the three-dimensional flow field about hypersonic lifting bodies is very difficult because of the complex equations governing the flow at hypersonic speeds. A way to avoid these difficulties is the application of the wave- rider concept which makes use of simple and fundamentally known flow fields by replacing stream surfaces with solid surfaces. The simplest configuration developed by this approach is the Nonweiler or caret wing [1]. At the design conditions, the flow field on the lower surface is that beneath a two-dimensional wedge with wedge angle 6 (fig. 1), the pressure distribution on the lower surface being constant. The design conditions are characterized by the plane shock wave lying in the plane of the leading edges of the wing. This shock pattern occurs at different Mach numbers and wedge angles, which, for any configuration, are related by the expression [2] where and In fig. 2, the hyperbola CX2 = —1 is shown. Additionally, for the special configuration investigated, some values a are plotted.