Investigation of transonic and supersonic flow past a pair of bodies

Transonic and supersonic flows past a pair of bodies have been experimentally investigated. The leading bodies were spheres, cylinders, and cones, while the trailing bodies were flat-ended circular cylinders. The leading and trailing bodies were joined by cylindrical rods of various lengths, aligned with the axis of symmetry. For these models, the pattern of flow between the bodies and the Mach number dependence of the drag coefficient C(x) were determined in the acceleration and deceleration flow regimes in a wind tunnel. The experimental results are used to analyze the properties of the flow between the bodies and the variation of the aerodynamic coefficients of the models. The reasons for the hysteresis in the behavior of the coefficients in the acceleration and deceleration stages are discussed. The influence of the shape and dimensions of the leading body on the model C(x) is evaluated.