INTEGRATED NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF ACTUATOR PERFORMANCE FOR GUIDANCE OF SUPERSONIC PROJECTILES

A recent study showed that the complex 3-D shock/boundary layer interaction of a pin placed next to a fin produces an asymmetric lift force that can be utilized for flight control of a projectile. The current study was completed to validate this new technology. A similar projectile was modeled, using high performance fluid dynamic computations and six degree-of-freedom trajectory simulations, to determine the projectile's flight characteristics prior to being flown in the US Army Research Laboratory's Aerodynamic Experimental Facility. A flight test was designed using this asymmetric lift to produce roll torque. Analysis of the flight data determined that the projectiles with pins developed the expected rolling moments. Computations were completed after the range test on the experimental model for computational validation.