Heat transfer predictions for IR domes

A successful model of the aerodynamic heat transfer to nose-mounted IR domes on hypersonic missile interceptors is presented. This paper describes a transitional flow heating algorithm, and presents a model for predicting the onset of boundary layer transition on a hemispherical forebody. In addition, this paper discusses the results of temperature predictions for IR domes, including a description of the analytical models and favorable comparisons with experimental data taken at Mach 4.6.