Anomalous Shocks on the Measured Near-Field Pressure Signatures of Low-Boom Wind-Tunnel Models

Unexpected shocks on wind-tunnel-measured pressure signatures prompted questions about design methods, pressure signature measurement techniques, and the quality of measurements in the flow fields near lifting models. Some of these unexpected shocks were the result of component integration methods. Others were attributed to the three-dimension nature of the flow around a lifting model, to inaccuracies in the prediction of the area-ruled lift, or to wing-tip stall effects. This report discusses the low-boom model wind-tunnel data where these unexpected shocks were initially observed, the physics of the lifting wing/body model's flow field, the wind-tunnel data used to evaluate the applicability of methods for calculating equivalent areas due to lift, the performance of lift prediction codes, and tip stall effects so that the cause of these shocks could be determined