Talon-P: Experimental Investigation of the Talon-P Geometry in Mach 6 Quiet Flow

This paper is a contribution to a special session focused on the analysis and optimization of a vehicle inspired by the Stratolaunch Talon-A vehicle, the baseline case of which we will refer to as Talon-P. This study investigates the flow physics of the Talon-P geometry in Mach 6 quiet flow. As part of a broader initiative aimed at reducing the cycle time for hypersonic vehicle development, experiments were conducted in Purdue University’s Boeing/AFOSR Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel (BAM6QT). Six nosecone geometries, representing a range of optimization parameters, were tested to collect surface heat flux and pressure fluctuation data, enabling characterization of surface heating and high-speed boundary layer behavior. These data are used to evaluate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions and to inform the development of multidisciplinary design and analysis tools aimed at accelerating hypersonic vehicle design cycles. Despite variations among the nosecone geometries, surface heating profiles were primarily governed by a single dominant parameter: the nosecone compression surface angle. This geometric feature proved to be the driving factor dictating surface heating distributions and peak heating magnitudes. Lower compression surface angle geometries were more sensitive to changes in angle of attack (AOA), attributed to a shift in the origin of vortex formations from the nosetip to the wing root. Additionally, pressure fluctuation measurements revealed a consistent instability near 50 kHz along the centerline for all geometries, with magnitudes varying with both geometry and AOA.