AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE SURFACE PRESSURE AND THE LAMINAR BOUNDARY LAYER ON A BLUNT FLAT PLATE IN HYPERSONIC FLOW. VOL 1. SURFACE PRESSURE DISTRIBUTIONS ON A BLUNTED FLAT PLATE

Pressures were measured over the surface of an unswept blunt flat plate having a cylindrical leading edge 1/2-inch in diameter. The flat plate was side-mounted in the ALOSU 12-inch continuous hypersonic wind tunnel. Separate tests were conducted with cylinders in order to obtain detailed data for the leading-edge. Stagnation temperatures were sufficiently high to eliminate condensation effects. The leading edge and cylinder pressure ratios were noted to be independent of both Mach number and Reynolds number. The flat plate pressure ratios show a small dependence on Mach number. Reynolds number effects on the plate pressure ratios were small except at the lower levels of Reynolds number where the interaction of the thickened boundary layer caused increases in pressure.