An Experimental Investigation of Boundary Layer Transition on a Cone at Angle of Attack

As the first part of the Strategic Re-entry Technology (STREET G) task to determine the effect of asymmetric transition on static stability, an experimental investigation of the influence of angle of attack on boundary layer transition from location and shape has been conducted at AEDC Tunnel B at Mach 8. The model was a stainless steel 7.2 deg half-angle cone with three bluntness ratios. For each of the bluntness ratios, heat transfer data were obtained for four values of the free stream Reynolds number and for four angles of attack, that is, alpha = 0 deg, 1 deg, 2 deg, and 4 deg. Comparisons of the heat transfer at alpha = o deg were made with theory and good agreement resulted.