Boundary-Layer Transition on Large-Scale CMT Graphite Nosetips at Reentry Conditions
Abstract
A series of tests designed to investigate the boundary-layer transition characteristics of preablated CMT graphite nosetips was conducted in a hypervelocity track facility. The location of the zone at which transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurred was measured on a number of nosetips having radii of 0.40, 0.80, and 1.125 in. The nosetips were tested at nominally 16 kfps over a free-stream pressure range of 0.13 to 0.40 atm. Transition front locations were inferred from nosetip surface temperature distributions obtained using a photographic pyrometry technique, and fronts were observed to range from the proximity of the stagnation point to the sonic point. It was observed that the mean transition location moved forward on the nosetip as test pressure increased. The circumferential variations about the mean transition location over a given nosetip decreased as the mean location moved nearer to the stagnation point.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA094212
Entities
People
- R. M. Raper
Organizations
- Arnold Engineering Development Complex