Author:
Manokaran Krishnamurthy ,Vidya Gurumurthy ,Dipankar Das ,Pramod Kumar Pandey
Abstract
Cloud formation was seen around the heatshield region in the transonic and low supersonic Mach number regime of PSLV flight. It is observed that the cloud formation is due to local condensation of moisture in the ambient air due to expansion of air around the heatshield and corresponding reduction in the local temperature over the heatshield in the transonic and low supersonic regime. CFD studies in conjunction with atmospheric dew point variation and flight trajectory data indicate the possibility of cloud formation around PSLV heatshield in the transonic and low supersonic regime. This type of condensation cloud in the transonic regime is known as "Prandtl-Glauert (PG) Cloud" and the condensation is also observed in the low supersonic Mach numbers. The condensation cloud formations are also observed over aircrafts.