In aerodynamics, the critical Mach number (MCR) of an aircraft is the lowest Mach number at which the airflow over some point of the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, but does not exceed it.
At the lower critical Mach number, airflow around the entire aircraft is subsonic. At the upper critical Mach number, airflow around the entire aircraft is supersonic.
For all aircraft in flight, the airflow around the aircraft is not exactly the same as the airspeed of the aircraft due to the airflow speeding up and slowing down to travel around the aircraft structure. At the critical Mach number, local airflow in some areas near the airframe reaches the speed of sound, even though the aircraft itself has an airspeed lower than Mach 1.0. This creates a weak shock wave. At speeds faster than the Critical Mach number the drag coefficient increases suddenly, causing dramatically increased drag, and, in an aircraft not designed for transonic or supersonic speeds, changes to the airflow over the flight control surfaces lead to deterioration in control of the aircraft.
In aircraft not designed to fly at or above the critical Mach number, shock waves in the flow over the wing and tailplane are sufficient to stall the wing, make control surfaces ineffective or lead to loss of control such as Mach tuck. The phenomena associated with problems at the critical Mach number became known as compressibility. |