Stagnation region solutions of the full viscous shock-layer equations

The range of validity of the full viscous shock-layer equations was investigated. Numerical solutions were obtained by combining an implicit finite-difference scheme with a relaxation technique for determining the bow shock shape, and results were compared with experimental stagnation point data for spherical nose shapes. The viscous shock-layer model was found to be in good agreement with experiment to very low Reynolds numbers. With the inclusion of shock and body slip, the full viscous shock-layer model is valid with shock Reynolds numbers as low as 20 to 30.