Flow about Cones at Very High Speeds

Abstract

Summary: Effects of vibrational excitation and dissociation of air on inviscid high speed flow past a circular cone, at zero incidence, with an attached shock wave, are studied on the assumption of thermal equilibrium. A numerical solution of the problem is outlined and an approximate analytic solution for the flow between the surface of the cone and the shock wave is developed. Two numerical examples are given as an illustration and compared with the corresponding solutions assuming constant air properties.