An overview of research on waverider design methodology

A waverider is any supersonic or hypersonic lifting body that is characterized by an attached, or nearly attached, bow shock wave along its leading edge. As a waverider can possess a high lift-to-drag ratio as well as an ideal precompression surface of the inlet system, it has become one of the most promising designs for air-breathing hypersonic vehicles. This paper reviews and classifies waverider design methodologies developed by local and foreign scholars up until 2016. The design concept of a waverider can be summarized as follows: modeling of the basic flow field is used to design the waverider in the streamwise direction and the osculating theory is used to design the waverider in the spanwise direction. •Waverider design method by local and foreign scholars is reviewed and classified.•Modeling of basic flow field is used to design waverider in streamwise direction.•Osculating theory is used to design waverider in spanwise direction.