Hypersonic Wakes

Abstract

An experimental investigation was made of the flow field behind a two-dimensional circular cylinder at a nominal Mach number of 5.7. The free-stream Reynolds number based on the cylinder diameter was varied over a range from 4300 to 66, 500 by changing both the diameter of the cylinder and the stagnation pressure of the wind tunnel. Pitot-pressure, static-pressure, and total-temperature measurements were made at various distances behind the cylindrical rod in order to determine the state properties in the wake. Base-pressure measurements were also taken at various Reynolds numbers. From these measurements, the transition from laminar to turbulent flow in the wake was determined and successfully correlated with other data. A transition Reynolds number based on local conditions and the length of laminar run was determined. Extensive comparison of the experimental data with Kubota's theory for laminar flow was then made. A satisfactory comparison was made between theory and experiment. Because of the nature of the tests conducted, only a qualitative comparison was made with the theory of Lees and Hromas for turbulent flow.