1
$\begingroup$

A normal subsonic enough, but still compressible flow will compress when it gets to the planes nose. But in supersonic flow, there won’t be this compression. There will just be a shockwave which turns the flow instead of the high pressure turning the flow. Granted, this depends on nose angle and the speed of the plane.

The shockwave itself has different properties, but those should be fairly even throughout the whole shockwave.

But if you look at the very tip of the nose in this picture, you will see a bigger black area, AKA different density.

enter image description here

Why is there this little area of more black/different density? The shockwave should be constant density, right?

Originally, I thought maybe this is because the angle of the nose was too high for an oblique shock to form, so a normal shock formed instead, but the nose seems to be at a fairly low angle so I don’t think this is the case.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2
$\begingroup$

The main thing you are seeing here is an artifact that the image is a sum of a bunch of 3D layers -- not just a 2D slice.

The nose of the airplane is a cone, so the flow structures happen in 360 degrees. So, you're seeing a thin slice through the middle, but also through all the layers in-between.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ I see. So, basically it’s just an artifact because of the way the image is taken? $\endgroup$
    – Wyatt
    Commented Jul 2 at 15:16

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .