Evaluation of Effect of Shape and Length of Spike on Aerodynamics Performance of Supersonic Axi-Symmetric Bodies

In this paper, the study of the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft which operates in both Hypersonic and Supersonic Flows has been carried out. The aerodynamics of the objects in these two regimes varies and is different in each. There is necessity for understanding the flow characteristics and applying it to a design which should be efficient in both the regimes. In this project, we are going to analyze the effect of the Spike length and the shape of the spike on performance characteristics of body. For this, a reference model of a blunt nose is taken and Computational studies have been made to obtain the effect of a spike with a sharp tip and blunt tip on the flow over a hemi-spherically blunt body at different Mach numbers. Effect of spike length has been obtained and it is observed that increase in spike length reduces drag at supersonic speeds and the drag reduction due to shape is based on the Mach number and the shape of the spike. The project suggests that an adjustable spike system at the nose of the aircraft can improve the aerodynamic performance at small weight compensation.