A theoretical investigation of forebody shapes designed for natural laminar boundary-layer flow

The design of forebody shapes for natural laminar flow is discussed. For subsonic flow, computed results for three shapes of different fineness ratios indicate that laminar flow can be attained under conditions that approximate those on the forebody of a cruise missile flying at a low altitude at a high subsonic Mach number. For supersonic (Mach 2.00) design, a one-parameter family of hyperbolic arcs was used to generate forebody shapes having a favorable pressure gradient over the forebody length. Computed results for these shapes indicated laminar and transitional flow over the range of Reynolds numbers considered.