Hypersonic Speed - Characteristics of Flow

Characteristics of Flow

While the definition of hypersonic flow can be quite vague and is generally debatable (especially due to the lack of discontinuity between supersonic and hypersonic flows), a hypersonic flow may be characterized by certain physical phenomena that can no longer be analytically discounted as in supersonic flow. The peculiarity in hypersonic flows are as follows:

1. Shock layer
2. Aerodynamic heating
3. Entropy layer
4. Real gas effects
5. Low density effects
6. Independence of aerodynamic coefficients with Mach number.