Effect of intermediate aerodisk mounted sharp tip spike on the drag reduction over a hemispherical body at Mach 2.0

Abstract

Reduction of forebody drag in high speed flying vehicles such as rockets and missiles are of high research interest in the present time. In the present research, drag reduction obtained by using an intermediate aerodisk mounted sharp tip spike has been investigated using computational studies at Mach number of 2.0. The flowfield over a hemispherical blunt body with an intermediate aerodisk mounted sharp tip spike is investigated at zero degree angle of attack and the amount of drag reduction obtained is then compared with that of a conventional sharp tip spike mounted hemisphere. The presence of an intermediate aerodisk changes the flow physics and shock system over the blunt body. The change in the system of shock waves by mounting an intermediate aerodisk results in a higher percentage (20% higher) of drag reduction generated by the blunt spiked body moving at a supersonic speed of Mach 2.0. Use of intermediate aerodisk proves to be beneficial in terms of drag reduction for spike lengths ranging beyond the critical length.

Keywords

• supersonic flow
• drag reduction
• spike
• aerodisk