Observation of Laminar Flow on a Blunted 15 Degree Cone-cylinder in Free Flight at High Reynolds Numbers and Free-stream Mach Numbers to 8.17

A highly polished 15 degree included-angle cone-cylinder with hemispherical tip has been flown to obtain boundary-layer transition and heat-transfer data. The model was launched from a carrier plane at an altitude of 47,500 feet. Laminar flow existed at a Reynolds number greater than 38.5 x 10(exp) 6 on the cylinder when the model was at the peak free-stream Mach number of 8.17. The results indicate an appreciable and favorable effect of tip bluntness in raising the allowable skin temperature for a given boundary-layer transition Reynolds number.