Flight Measurements of Boundary-Layer Transition on A 5 Degree Half-Angle Cone at A Free-Stream Mach Number of 20 (Reentry F)

Experimental free-flight transition data have been obtained on a slightly blunted 5° half-angle cone at a free-stream Mach number of 20. The locations of the beginning and end of transition were determined by the intersection of curves faired through the laminar, transitional, and turbulent heating-rate data. The temperature-history technique for determining transition as currently used (sharp break in curve) and the heating-rate-history technique were compared with the heating-rate-distribution transition results. The experimental data, when presented in the form of local Reynolds numbers and Mach number, were shown to have trends similar to those existing in wind-tunnel data.