Symmetrical and asymmetrical separations about a yawed cone

Three dimensional flow separations about a circular cone were investigated in the Mach number range 0.6 - 1.8. The cone was tested in the Ames 1.8 by 1.8 m wind tunnel at Reynolds numbers based on the cone length from 4,500,000 to 13,500,000 under nominally zero heat transfer conditions. Results indicate that: (1) the lee-side separated flow develops from initially symmetrically disposed and near-conical separation lines at angle of incidence/cone semiangle equal to approximately 1, with the free shear layers eventually rolling up into tightly coiled vortices at all Mach numbers; (2) the onset of asymmetry of the lee-side separated flow about the mean pitch plane is sensitive to Mach number, Reynolds number, and the nose bluntness; and (3) as the Mach number is increased beyond 1.8, the critical angle of incidence for the onset of asymmetry increases until at about M = 2.75 there is no longer any significant side force development.