Base pressure of a rotating axially symmetrical body

Summary

The base pressure is studied on axially symmetrical finned and finless bodies. The revolutions are either forced or selfsustained (in the case of finned bodies). It is shown that the revolution of the axisymmetric body results in an essentially reduced base pressure and hence an increased base drag. The structure of the flow in the base region is considerably modified by the rotation. The presence of tail fins leads to an additional pressure reduction at the base of a not rotating body. This effect turns out to be more pronounced in the case of the forced rotation. The pressure along the base radius varies almost uniformly. By varying the fin setting angle it is possible to control not only the magnitude but also the sign of the pressure gradient.