Heat flux and aerodynamics drag reduction of a hypersonic flow with the different tips of the taper spike design parabolic nose cone

Abstract

The primary engineering challenge in the realm of supersonic aircraft design lies in the effective management of aero-heating and drag. This study delves into a numerical exploration of flow characteristics at Mach number 5.8, specifically focusing on the aerodynamic performance of actively modified the leading edge of the spike configurations. These configurations encompass bi-conic, parabolic, ogive, elliptical, spherical, and flat-tapered spikes attached to parabolic nose cones. The investigation is carried out at a zero-degree angle of attack, with a particular emphasis on their abilities to reduce aerodynamic drag, heating, and skin friction. Analysis of velocity vectors and contour geometries offers insights into flow patterns, and the presence of shock phenomena in front of the various tapered spike geometries. A comparative examination of these different tip-tapered spike designs on the parabolic nose cone reveals that the flat-tapered spike exhibits superior performance in terms of heat mitigation and reduction in aerodynamic drag. This can potentially be attributed to specific inflow and shock features near both the tip and the base of the spike on the parabolic nose cone, including aspects such as flow deceleration and the presence of strong and weak shock waves. These characteristics likely contribute to the observed reductions in both heating and aerodynamic drag.