Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2006
A method has been developed for calculating the viscous effects of the hypersonic flow on the fore part of various bodies. This method takes into account the finite leading-edge thickness of the body and the detached shock wave. The calculated pressure distributions agree with all experimental results for both air and helium over a wide range of Mach numbers and Reynolds numbers. The calculation predicts skin frictions of the order of twice those predicted by ordinary boundary-layer theory.