An improved method to determine free stream conditions in hypersonic facilities (Q1312605)

A simple method was developed which yields the free stream conditions with high accuracy. This could be achieved by using mainly values which are measured within the test section. The method requires the measurement of the Pitot pressure, the stagnation point heat flux on a sphere and the static pressure of the free stream. For the static pressure an estimated value can also be used, because it has no large influence on the result. Some simple considerations show that the derived method is also valid for nonequilibrium free stream conditions. With the procedure presented the accuracy of the pressure coefficients and Stanton numbers could be increased significantly.