Investigation of the Aerodynamic Characteristics of a 10° Cone in a T-128 Transonic Wind Tunnel

This article presents the main results of a detailed study of the flow around a 10° cone in different Mach number (M = 0.2–1.4), Reynolds number (Re = 2.1·106–14.1·106), and perforation coefficient (F = 0–18%) ranges and at various angles of attack (− 14°– + 14°). Experimental studies were carried out in the T-128 transonic wind tunnel at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute. A brief description of the aerodynamic setup and measuring equipment is given. During the tests, aerodynamic loads were measured using six-component internal strain-gauge balances simultaneously considering the distribution of static pressure along the test section walls, base pressure, non-stationary static pressure on the cone surface and the test section wall, as well as thermograms of the cone surface. A brief description of the Electronic Wind Tunnel software package is given, with the help of which the computational studies of the flow around a cone in a perforated test section were performed. The level of static pressure fluctuations in the model is shown to be lower than at the perforated walls. Combining thermal imaging tests with balance tests made it possible to explain the nonlinearity of the dependence of the lift coefficient on the angle of attack and to estimate the critical angles of attack at which symmetric and asymmetric flow separations on the side surface of the cone appear. The values obtained for the critical angles of attack agree with the calculated and experimental data of other authors. © 2021, The Institution of Engineers (India).