Shock interactions and heating predictions on a V-shaped blunt leading edge at Mach 6–12.

This article investigates the shock interaction mechanisms and heat flux peak predictions around V-shaped blunt leading edges (VSBLEs) of hypersonic air-breathing vehicles across freestream Mach numbers 6 to 12 using numerical simulations and theoretical analysis. The study distinguishes between large-scale primary shock interactions (PSIs), which remain constant, and micro-scale secondary shock interactions (SSIs), which undergo a transition from Mach reflection (MR) to regular reflection (RR) as Mach number increases, significantly affecting heat flux peaks. A transition criterion based on upstream Mach number and incident shock deflection angle is developed to predict SSI types, alongside a semi-empirical heat flux prediction formula correlating transmitted shock intensity with heat flux amplification. These theoretical methods are validated against simulations and experiments for various Mach numbers and VSBLE geometries, demonstrating applicability for thermal protection design and aerodynamic heating assessment in hypersonic vehicle engineering.