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Reduction of Base Drag by Boat-Tailed Afterbodies in Low-Speed Flow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2016

W. A. Mair*
Affiliation:
Engineering Department, Cambridge University
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Summary

Drag measurements were made on a blunt-based body of revolution with the addition of several alternative boat-tailed afterbodies. The best of these afterbodies, with a length of only 60 per cent of the maximum diameter, gave almost as much reduction of drag as a conventional streamline tail. The pressure distribution on this body was measured for various lengths. It does not seem to be possible at present to predict quantitatively the drag of this type of body but some qualitative design principles have been suggested.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society. 1964

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References

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