Abstract
The effect of upstream vibrational energy excitation on supersonic blunt-body drag is studied using computational fluid dynamics. The simulations model recent experiments where a DC or microwave discharge excites the air upstream of a sphere. It is assumed that the discharge weakly dissociates the oxygen and excites the vibrational energy of the diatomics. The computations show that the bow shock standoff distance increases, and the drag on the sphere is found to decrease by as much as 50%. The results are in general agreement with the experiments, indicating that vibrational energy excitation may explain the observed behavior. Preliminary calculations on a streamlined body do not show as large a drag reduction effect.
| Original language | English (US) |
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| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1999 |
| Event | 37th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, 1999 - Reno, United States Duration: Jan 11 1999 → Jan 14 1999 |
Other
| Other | 37th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, 1999 |
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| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Reno |
| Period | 1/11/99 → 1/14/99 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 1999 by Graham V. Candler. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.