Supersonic airflow is decidedly different from subsonic flow. Nearly everything about the way an aircraft flies changes dramatically as an aircraft accelerates to supersonic speeds. Even with this strong demarcation, there is still some debate as to the definition of "supersonic". One definition is that the aircraft, as a whole, is traveling at Mach 1 or greater. More technical definitions state that you are only supersonic if the airflow over the entire aircraft is supersonic, which occurs around Mach 1.2 on typical designs. The range Mach 0.75 to 1.2 is therefore considered transonic.
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Supersonic airflow is decidedly different from subsonic flow. Nearly everything about the way an aircraft flies changes dramatically as an aircraft accelerates to supersonic speeds. Even with this strong demarcation, there is still some debate as to the definition of "supersonic". One definition is that the aircraft, as a whole, is traveling at Mach 1 or greater. More technical definitions state that you are only supersonic if the airflow over the entire aircraft is supersonic, which occurs around Mach 1.2 on typical designs. The range Mach 0.75 to 1.2 is therefore considered transonic.
Considering the problems with this simple definition, the precise Mach number at which a craft can be said to be fully hypersonic is even more elusive, especially since physical changes in the airflow (molecular dissociation, ionization) occur at quite different speeds. Generally, a combination of effects become important "as a whole" around Mach 5. The hypersonic regime is often defined as speeds where ramjets do not produce net thrust. This is a nebulous definition in itself, as there exists a proposed change to allow them to operate in the hypersonic regime (the Scramjet).
Characteristics of flow
While the definition of hypersonic flow can be quite vague and is generally debatable (especially due to the lack of discontinuity between supersonic and hypersonic flows), a hypersonic flow may be characterized by certain physical phenomena that can no longer be analytically discounted as in supersonic flow. These phenomena include:
Thin shock layer
As Mach numbers increase, the density behind the shock also increases, which corresponds to a decrease in volume behind the shock wave due to conservation of mass. Consequently, the shock layer, that volume between the body and the shock wave, is thin at high Mach numbers.
Entropy layer
As Mach numbers increase, the entropy change across the shock also increases, which results in a strong entropy gradient and highly vortical flow that mixes with the boundary layer.
Viscous interaction
A portion of the large kinetic energy associated with flow at high Mach numbers transforms into internal energy in the fluid due to viscous effects. The increase in internal energy is realized as an increase in temperature. Since the pressure gradient normal to the flow within a boundary layer is zero, the increase of temperature through the boundary layer coincides with a decrease in density. Thus, the boundary layer over the body grows and can often merge with the thin shock layer.
High temperature flow
High temperatures discussed previously as a manifestation of viscous dissipation cause non-equilibrium chemical flow properties such as dissociation and ionization of molecules resulting in convective and radiative heating.
