Affiliations: Interdisciplinary Shock Wave Research Center,
Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan. E-mail:
viren@rainbow.ifs.tohoku.ac.jp | Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute
of Science, Bangalore, 560-012, India
Abstract: The hypersonic flow fields around a 120° apex angle blunt cone
fitted with spikes have been visualized using electric discharge technique at
Mach 5.75 in a hypersonic shock tunnel. The blunt cone has been fitted with a
flat tipped spike and a flat aerodisc tipped spike assembly. The length of the
aerodisc tipped spike assembly has been kept equal to the model base diameter
(L/D=1) and the length of the flat tipped spike has been kept at 12mm. The flow
field pictures reveal all the salient features of the flow fields around the
spiked bodies. Numerical simulations carried out to complement the experiments
agree well with the experimental pictures.
Keywords: Visualization, Electric discharge, Spiked blunt cone, Hypersonic shock tunnel