Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:56:34.704Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

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
Get access

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

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Calvert, J. R. Blockage corrections for blunt-based bodies of revolution. Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Vol. 70, pp 532533, 1966.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Mair, W. A. Blockage corrections for blunt-based bodies of revolution. Aeronautical Journal, Vol. 72, p 1058, 1968.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3. Evans, J. Y. G. Corrections to velocity for wall constraint in any 10 × 7 rectangular subsonic wind tunnel. ARC R & M 2662, 1953.Google Scholar
4. Lock, C. N. H. and Johansen, F. C. Drag and pressure distribution experiments on two pairs of streamline bodies. ARC R & M 1452, 1933.Google Scholar
5. Wieghardt, K. Betrachtungen zum Zähigkeitswiderstand von Schiffen. Jahrbuch der Schiffbautechnischen Gesellschaft, Vol. 52, pp 184199, 1958.Google Scholar
6. Hess, J. L. and Smith, A. M. O. Calculation of potential flow about arbitrary bodies. Progress in Aeronautical Sciences, Vol. 8, Pergamon, 1967.Google Scholar
7. Head, M. R. Entrainment in the turbulent boundary layer. ARC R & M 3152, 1960.Google Scholar
8. Bradshaw, P. and Galea, P. V. Step-induced separation of a turbulent boundary layer in incompressible flow. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 27, pp 111130,1967.Google Scholar
9. Head, M. R. and Rechenberg, I. The Preston tube as a means of measuring skin friction. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 14, pp 117, 1962.CrossRefGoogle Scholar