Supersonic flow investigation of a drag reducing conical spike on a hemispherically blunted nose body

Abstract

Experiments and computations were made at a Mach number of 2.0 on a hemispherical blunt nose body with a conical spike of L/D ratio = 1.0. Attempts were made to alter the axisymmetric cavity formation between the spike tip head and the blunt base body. Qualitative measurements and quantitative details indicate the changes which support the drag reduction beyond the conventional sharp spike. Additional drops in drag values were observed by the techniques used in the present investigation. A linear trend of drag reduction is obtained with conical spikes which lead to the drag of a pure conical body.