Effects of the Bluntness on the Performance of Lightweight Waveriders in the Gliding Phase

This study examines the effect of a blunt leading edge on cone-derived waveriders during the gliding phase. At the design condition (M∞=5, α=0°), the lift and drag coefficients on the lower surface decrease by 40.04% and 28.65%, respectively, as the blunt radius increases. The drag coefficient at the leading edge shows an approximately positive correlation with the blunt radius, while the lift coefficient on the upper surface increases by 271.97%. At off-design conditions, as α increases from −10° to 10°, the lift coefficients for r=0, 5, and 10 mm increase by approximately 389.6%, 419.0%, and 425.4%, respectively. With M∞ increasing from 5 to 7, the lift coefficients decrease by 18.56%, 15.11%, and 15.52%, while the drag coefficients fall by 21.00%, 19.79%, and 19.62%. These trends are used to assess aerodynamic performance in the gliding phase. For an initial condition of ξ=0° and V=4,500 m·s−1, the total flight range of the waverider with r=10 mm is 18.41% and 16.64% shorter than those with r=0 and 5 mm, respectively. When the terminal point is fixed at x=4,000 km, the required initial trajectory path angles for r=0, 5, and 10 mm are −11.3°, −8°, and 2.24°, respectively.