local Mach number
local Mach number
[′lō·kəl ′mäk ‚nəm·bər] (aerospace engineering)
The Mach number of an isolated section of an airplane or its airframe.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
local Mach number
The ratio of the free-stream flow to the local speed of sound. The speed of sound varies because of temperature changes around the aircraft, and thus the local Mach number may be more, less, or equal to the free-stream Mach number. See free-stream Mach number.
An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved