From a theory developed on a quasi-one-dimensional-flow basis, it is found that the stability of the ram jet is dependent upon the instantaneous values of mass flow and total pressure recovery of the supersonic diffuser and immediate neighboring subsonic diffuser. Conditions for stable and unstable flow are presented. The theory developed in the report is in agreement with the experimental data of NACA-TN-3506 and NACA-RM-L50K30. A simple theory for predicting the approximate amplitude of small pressure pulsation in terms of mass-flow decrement from minimum-stable mass flow is developed and found to agree with experiments.

From Summary: "A simplified analysis of the velocity and deceleration history of ballistic missiles entering the earth's atmosphere at high supersonic speeds is presented. The results of this motion analysis are employed to indicate means available to the designer for minimizing aerodynamic heating. The heating problem considered involves not only the total heat transferred to a missile by convection, but also the maximum average and local time rates of convective heat transfer."

"Under the assumption that a wing, body, or wing-body combination is slender or flying at near sonic velocity, expressions are given which permit the calculation of pressure in the immediate vicinity of the configuration. The disturbance field, in both subsonic and supersonic flight, is shown to consist of two-dimensional disturbance fields extending laterally and a longitudinal field that depends on the streamwise growth of cross-sectional area. A discussion is also given of couplings, between lifting and thickness effects, that necessarily arise as a result of the quadratic dependence of pressure on the induced velocity components" (author).