Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 January 2016
The present paper presents oil flow visualisations and pressure measurements over a hemisphere-cylinder body attached with a forward facing spike at Mach 6 and Reynolds number of 1·38 × 108 at 0° and 5° angle-of-attack. The oil flow pictures depict the separation region in the vicinity of the spike on the hemisphere-cylinder body. The oil flow visualisations will help to locate the reattachment shock wave on the hemisphere-cylinder body and also understand the flow field behavior on the blunt-nosed spike configuration. The pressure measurements over the hemisphere-cylinder body depend on the shape and the length of the spike. The pressure distributions over the blunt-nosed body show significant influence of the angle-of-attack. The maximum pressure coefficient on the hemisphere-cylinder body is a function of the spike length, shape of the aerodisk and angle-of-attack. The windward and leeward sides pressure variations show dependence of the geometrical parameters of the spike and shape of the spike. The hemisphere and the flat-faced aerodisk cause considerable reduction of pressure leading to decrease of aerodynamic drag compared to the conical spike.