Note on the results of some profile drag calculations for a particular body of revolution at supersonic speeds

Abstract

Details additional to those discussed in College of Aeronautics Report No. 73 are given of the method developed for the calculation of the profile drag of bodies of revolution at supersonic speeds and zero incidence. The method has been applied to a particular body of fineness ratio 7.5 (see Fig. 1) for Mach numbers ranging from 1.5 to 5.0, Reynolds numbers ranging from 106 to 108 and transition positions ranging from the nose to the tail end of the body. The calculations assume zero heat transfer. The results indicate that the overall difference in profile drag between fully laminar and fully turbulent flow decreases rapidly with mainstream Mach number and rather more rapidly than does the corresponding difference for a flat plate, and at Mach numbers greater than about 2 the profile drag of the body with fully turbulent flow is less than that of a flat plate (Fig. 14).