The Effect of Thermochemical Non-Equilibrium on the Aerodynamics of Osculating-Cone Waverider

The influence of thermochemical non-equilibrium effect towards the aerodynamic performances of an osculating-cone waverider is analyzed in this paper, and the osculating-cone waverider is typical configuration of near space vehicles. Two different gas models, namely thermochemical non-equilibrium and perfect gas models are employed. The obtained results show that the thermochemical non-equilibrium effect is significant near the windward boundary layer at the tail of the waverider, and the non-equilibrium effect makes the pressure center of the osculating-cone waverider move forward by about 1.33% of the whole craft’s length at the altitude of 55km, and this must be taken into consideration in the balance design of aircraft.