A review of research conducted at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) into high-speed vortex flows during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s is presented. The data are for flat plates, cavities, bodies, missiles, wings, and aircraft with Mach numbers of 1.5 to 4.6. Data are presented to show the types of vortex structures that occur at supersonic speeds and the impact of these flow structures on vehicle performance and control. The data show the presence of both small- and large-scale vortex structures for a variety of vehicles, from missiles to transports. For cavities, the data show very complex multiple vortex structures exist at all combinations of cavity depth to length ratios and Mach number. The data for missiles show the existence of very strong interference effects between body and/or fin vortices. Data are shown that highlight the effect of leading-edge sweep, leading-edge bluntness, wing thickness, location of maximum thickness, and camber on the aerodynamics of and flow over delta wings. Finally, a discussion of a design approach for wings that use vortex flows for improved aerodynamic performance at supersonic speeds is presented. Wood, Richard M. and Wilcox, Floyd J., Jr. and Bauer, Steven X. S. and Allen, Jerry M. Langley Research Center WU 706-51-21-10

The aerodynamics of aircraft at high angles of attack is a subject which is being pursued diligently, because the modern agile fighter aircraft and many of the current generation of missiles must perform well at very high incidence, near and beyond stall. However, a comprehensive presentation of the methods and results applicable to the studies of the complex aerodynamics at high angle of attack has not been covered in monographs or textbooks. This book is not the usual textbook in that it goes beyond just presenting the basic theoretical and experimental know-how, since it contains reference material to practical calculation methods and technical and experimental results which can be useful to the practicing aerospace engineers and scientists. It can certainly be used as a text and reference book for graduate courses on subjects related to high angles of attack aerodynamics and for topics related to three-dimensional separation in viscous flow courses. In addition, the book is addressed to the aerodynamicist interested in a comprehensive reference to methods of analysis and computations of high angle of attack flow phenomena and is written for the aerospace scientist and engineer who is familiar with the basic concepts of viscous and inviscid flows and with computational methods used in fluid dynamics.