Effect of bulk viscosity in supersonic flow past spacecraft

In this paper, we consider the effect of bulk viscosity in various hydrodynamic problems. We numerically study this effect on the front structure of the one-dimensional stationary shock wave and on the flow past blunt body. We estimate the effect of the bulk viscosity coefficient (BVC) on the heat transfer and drag of a sphere in a supersonic flow, apparently for the first time, by the numerical solution of parabolized Navier–Stokes equations. The solution is obtained by an original fast convergent method of global iterations of the longitudinal pressure gradient. The directions of further investigations of bulk viscosity are suggested.