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Ansys Learning Forum › Forums › Discuss Simulation › Fluids › Is there any difference between supersonic and hypersonic flows other than the Mach number? › Reply To: Is there any difference between supersonic and hypersonic flows other than the Mach number?

July 31, 2020 at 1:52 pm
Karthik Remella
Administrator

Yes! Hypersonic flows presents some physical phenomena that are not seen in supersonic flows. These phenomena become more important as the Mach number increases above 5.

In hypersonic flows we can observe thin shock layers and the formation of thick entropy layers. Also the viscous interaction adds more complexities in the boundary layer region. Furthermore, high speed leads to high temperatures that produce ionization and dissociation of the gas around the moving body