Influence of Nose Cone Fairing and Spike on Supersonic Blunt Body Flows

Experiments and computations were performed at Mach number 2.0 for various nose cone fairing bodies with a sharp spike and conical spike of L/Dratio = 1.0 and with a sharp spike having a fixed tip location of different L/D ratios. Attempts were made to alter the flowfield of various nose cone fairing bodies with the adoption of the spike. Qualitative and quantitative measurement studies indicate the changes that support the reduction of drag forces, not only on hemispherical blunt bodies but also on various nose cone fairings. This drag reduction with the configurations tested in this study indicates the importance of the region between the spike and the blunt-body face. The results presented here justify the quality and quantity of recirculating flow and its implication for drag reduction.