Measurements in the laminar near-wake of magnetically suspended cones at freestream Mach number = 6.3

Measurements of the Pitot pressure and the recovery temperature of a cylindrical hot-film probe in the laminar near-wake of sharp, 7-deg half-angle, adiabatic-wall cones, at freestream Mach number = 6.32 and freestream Reynolds numbers based on model base diameter from 62,000 to 86,000 are presented. The study establishes several important effects of hypersonic Mach number on the structure of the axisymmetric cone near-wake when compared with the results of a previous laminar supersonic (freestream Mach number = 4.3) near-wake investigation of the same model geometry at similar Reynolds numbers. Results confirm the phenomenon of decreasing length of the recirculation region with increasing Mach number. Dramatic changes in the wake structure are most pronounced in the orientation and development of the lip and wake recompression shock waves. At freestream Mach number = 6.32 the viscous region was found to extend beyond the wake shock wave, whereas at the supersonic Mach number, as far back as six base diameters, there was only a gradual compressive turning of the outer inviscid flow, with the fully developed wake shock appearing farther downstream.