Abstract
As demonstrated in the open literature, Mach 5 appears to be the lower bounds of the hypersonic flow regime. Still, a curious fellow might wonder why this limit is only Mach 5 but not Mach 4 or Mach 6? Put differently, what is so unusual about Mach 5 that it is considered to be the basic criteria for hypersonic flow? One might also wonder whether the expansion fans and shocks in the hypersonic flow field are different from those in the supersonic flow field? Undoubtedly, to answer these questions, one must have a profound understanding of the characteristics of hypersonic flow. This chapter explores the physical characteristics of fluids flowing at hypersonic speeds (at Mach numbers greater than 5), which will sooner or later become the “formalistic sketch” of hypersonic flow.
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Notes
- 1.
\(\mathrm {\tan ^{-1}y+\tan ^{-1}\left( \frac{1}{y}\right) =\frac{\pi }{2}}\).
- 2.
\(\mathrm {\arctan \left( \frac{1}{y}\right) =\frac{1}{y}-\frac{1}{3y^{3}}+\frac{1}{5y^{5}}-\frac{1}{7y^{7}}+\frac{1}{9y^{9}}+.....}\).
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Kaushik, M. (2022). Elementary Concepts of Inviscid Hypersonic Flows. In: Fundamentals of Gas Dynamics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9085-3_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9085-3_11
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Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-9084-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-9085-3
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