Boundary-layer transition on a 10-deg cone - Wind tunnel/flight correlation

Boundary-layer transition location measurements were made on a 10-deg sharp cone in 23 wind tunnels of the US and Europe and in flight. The data were acquired at subsonic, transonic, and supersonic Mach numbers over a range of unit Reynolds numbers to obtain an improved understanding of wind tunnel flow quality influence. Cone surface microphone measurements showed Tollmien-Schlichting waves present. Transition location defined by pitot probe measurements showed transition Reynolds number to be correlatable to cone surface disturbance amplitude within + or - 20 percent for the majority of tunnel and flight data.