Heat transfer characteristics of hypersonic waveriders with an emphasis on leading edge effects

Title of Thesis: Heat Transfer Characteristics of Hypersonic Waveriderswith an Emphasis on the Leading Edge EffectsName of Degree Candidate: Denis O. VanmolDegree and Year: Master of Science, 1991Thesis Directed by: Dr. John D. Anderson, Jr.ProfessorDepartment of Aerospace EngineeringThe heat transfer characteristics in surface radiative equilibrium and the aerody-namic performance of blunted hypersonic waveriders are studied along two constantdynamic pressure trajectories for four different Mach numbers.In terms of performance, the inviscid leading edge drag was found to be a small(4 to 8%) but non-negligible fraction of the inviscid drag of the vehicle. Although theviscous drag at the leading edge can be neglected, the presence of the leading edgewill influence the transition pattern of the upper and lower surfaces and thereforeaffect the viscous drag of the entire vehicle.Finally, for an application similar to the NASP, the present study demonstratesthat the waverider remains a valuable concept at high Mach number if a state-of-the-art active cooling device is used along the leading edge. At low Mach number(<_5), the study shows that surface radiative cooling might be sufficient. In all cases,radiative cooling is sufficient for the upper and lower surfaces of the vehicle if ceramiccomposites is used as thermal protection.