Aerodynamic Centers of High L/D Cone-Derived Hypersonic Waveriders Evaluated Using Impact Methods

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the longitudinal performance of cone-derived hypersonic waveriders with respect to geometry generation parameters. Oblique shock relations and the Taylor-Maccoll equation are used to determine fluid flow between the theoretical cone body and its resulting conical shock at hypersonic freestream Mach numbers. A second-order symmetric polynomial equation dictates the leading edge curvature and upper surface of the waverider geometry. Streamlines originating from leading edge points that lie on the shock wave and follow the resulting flowfield are blended to form the lower surface of the waverider. A symmetric mesh of the geometry is generated and used for analysis in HI-Mach, a low-fidelity impact method aerodynamic solver. A workflow linking geometry generation to the analysis tool is developed, producing a database of aerodynamic performance data for user-specified cruise conditions. A design sweep of the input parameters is conducted, and waverider configurations yielding high L/D ratios are identified and presented. Finally, aerodynamic center data for the various configurations is provided to support practical hypersonic waverider design.