GridPro - Check out our latest blog on Spiked Blunt Bodies for Hypersonic Flights. In the design of aerospace vehicles such as missiles, rockets, and reentry vehicles which typically travel at hypersonic velocities, reducing pressure drag and aerodynamic heating are the two most critical design requirements. On one hand, high drag is needed to decelerate a reentry capsule, on the other, for vehicles escaping the earth’s atmosphere, drag reduction is a primary requirement.

Out of wide arrays of approaches explored by researchers over the years to mitigate these hypersonic problems, the spiked blunt body is considered the most promising one because of its simplicity, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Occupying only a small space, spikes transform the strong bow shock in front of the blunt nose to weak oblique shock waves. The weak shock waves and the trapped recirculating zone reduces the pressure drag and aerothermal heating.

These flow phenomena developing due to spikes are quite complex and have many fascinating characteristics. To know more about aerospikes, we invite you to read the article here https://bit.ly/2QpPhmv