The effects of angle of attack α on viscous hypersonic flowfield over a flat plate with a slightly blunt leading edge were examined theoretically and experimentally. An analytical solution which includes the effects of the slight bluntness and of α was obtained by using blast wave theory. It was compared with the experimental shock shape. The change of drag coefficient
CD for the blunt leading edge must be considered for small Reynolds number
Red which is based on the characteristic dimension of the bluntness
d because of the viscous effects there. Taking account of this, qualitative trends of the two were in good agreement. At small α, the shock shape is dominated by the effects of the bluntness. At large α, the strong effects of α make the shock shape straight downstream.
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