Numerical Investigation of Aerodynamic Characteristics on a Blunt Cone Model at Various Angles of Attack under Hypersonic Flow Regimes

The study of aerodynamic forces in hypersonic environments is important to ensure the safety and proper functioning of aerospace vehicles. These forces vary with the angle of attack (AOA) and there exists an optimum AOA where the lift to drag force ratio is maximum. In this paper, computational analysis has been performed on a blunt cone model to study the aerodynamic characteristics when hypersonic flow is allowed to pass through the model. The flow has a Mach number of 8.44 and the AOA is varied from 0° to 20°. The commercial CFD solver ANSYS FLUENT is used for the computational analysis and the mesh is generated using the ICEM CFD module of ANSYS. Air is selected as the working fluid. The simulation is carried out for a time duration of 1.2 ms where it reaches a steady state and the lift and drag forces and coefficients are estimated. The pressure, temperature, and velocity contours at different angles of attack are also observed. It is found that the lift-to-drag ratio increases with increasing angle of attack up to a certain value and then reduces drastically. The optimum AOA is found at 17° where it has the maximum ratio of lift force to drag force. This study helps in understanding the aerodynamic and stability characteristics of hypersonic vehicles at various angles of attack that is significantly different from those of the subsonic or supersonic vehicles.