alt=Two-dimensional drawing of an elliptical nose cone with dimensions added to show how L is the total length of the nose cone, R is the radius at the base, and y is the radius at a point x distance from the tip.|thumb|300x300px|General parameters used for constructing nose cone profiles.
Because of the problem of the aerodynamic design of the nose cone section of any vehicle or body meant to travel through a compressible fluid medium (such as a rocket or aircraft, missile, shell or bullet), an important problem is the determination of the nose cone geometrical shape for optimum performance. For many applications, such a task requires the definition of a solid of revolution shape that experiences minimal resistance to rapid motion through such a fluid medium.
Nose cone shapes and equations
General dimensions
In all of the following nose cone shape equations, is the overall length of the nose cone and is the radius of the base of the nose cone. is the radius at any point , as varies from , at the tip of the nose cone, to . The equations define the two-dimensional profile of the nose shape. The full body of revolution of the nose cone is formed by rotating the profile around the centerline . While the equations describe the "perfect" shape, practical nose cones are often blunted or truncated for manufacturing, aerodynamic, or thermodynamic reasons.
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:For <math>0 \le n \le 1</math>: <math>y = R\left({x \over L}\right)^n</math>
Common values of include:
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!Power type
! value
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|Cylinder
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|Half (parabola)
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|Three quarter
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|Cone
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Haack series
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A Haack series nosecone is defined by:
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