Comparison between novel waverider generated from flow past a pointed von Karman ogive and conventional cone-derived waverider

Abstract

This study conducts a comparison between a novel waverider generated from axisymmetric supersonic flow past a pointed von Karman ogive and a conventional cone-derived waverider generated from the axisymmetric supersonic flow past a cone. First, a pointed von Karman ogive is obtained by sharpening the blunt nose of the original von Karman ogive to a point. Then, a cone with the same shock wave radius at the base plane as that of the pointed von Karman ogive when it travels at a designated supersonic speed is designed. Both axisymmetric supersonic flows past the pointed von Karman ogive and the cone are calculated using the method of characteristics, and the two calculated flow fields are employed as the new and conventional basic flow fields of the waveriders, respectively. Second, a novel waverider is generated from the new basic flow field past the pointed von Karman ogive, using the streamline tracing technique, and a conventional cone-derived waverider is generated from the conventional basic flow field past the cone, using the streamline tracing technique. Finally, numerical methods are employed to verify the design procedures of the novel and conventional cone-derived waveriders, and to analyze the differences between both types of waverider. The obtained results show that the novel waverider possesses lower drag and higher lift-to-drag ratios, while the conventional cone-derived waverider has a higher internal volume and volumetric efficiency.