THE EFFECT OF LEADING EDGE ROUNDING ON A CARET WAVERIDER CONFIGURATION AT MACH 8.2

摘要

This paper presents a computational study, with some experimental validation, into the aerodynamic effects of the rounding off of the leading edge of a Caret type waverider at hypersonic speed. The study has confirmed that, at the Mach 8.2 conditions investigated here, the rounding off of the sharp leading edge of a Caret type waverider results in a significant degradation of its lifting capability, both at its design orientation, and at positive angles of attack. Increasing the leading edge radius acts to reduce the lift coefficient, the lift to drag ratio and the pitching moment about the nose, at all angles of attack up to 15°.