The effects of nose and corner radii on the flow about blunt bodies at angle of attack

Abstract

An investigation has been conducted to determine the effects of nose and corner radii on the pressure distribution and shock geometry for blunt bodies at angle of attack. Experimental pressure distributions were measured on a family of blunt, axisymmetric bodies which included a range of ratios of body radius to nose radius from 0 (flat face) to 0.707 and ratios of corner radius to body radius from 0 (sharp corner) to 0.4. The tests were made at a free stream Mach number and a unit Reynolds number (per foot) of approximately 8.0 and 4.10 x 10⁶, respectively. The range of angle of attack was 0º to 29º.

Included in this investigation are pressure and velocity distributions, shock detachment distances measured from schlieren photographs, and a comparison of the experimental pressure and velocity distributions (at zero angle of attack) with theoretical predictions.