Second-order boundary-layer effects in hypersonic flow past axisymmetric blunt bodies

First- and second-order boundary-layer theory are examined in detail for some specific flow cases of practical interest. These cases are for flows over blunt axisymmetric bodies in hypersonic high-altitude (or low density) flow where second-order boundary-layer quantities may become important. These cases consist of flow over a hyperboloid and a paraboloid both with free-stream Mach number infinity and flow over a sphere at free-stream Mach number 10. The method employed in finding the solutions is an implicit finite-difference scheme. It is found to exhibit both stability and accuracy in the examples computed. The method consists of starting near the stagnation-point of a blunt body and marching downstream along the body surface. Several interesting properties of the boundary layer are pointed out, such as the nature of some second-order boundary-layer quantities far downstream in the flow past a sphere and the effect of strong vorticity interaction on the second-order boundary layer in the flow past a hyperboloid. In several of the flow cases, results are compared with other theories and experiments.