Simulation Study on the Effect of Asymmetric Fin Position on Aerodynamic Characteristic of a Missile

Abstract

The aerodynamics controlling performance of a missile depends a lot on its fins and their configurations. When the fins location is moved forward from its original position, the force moment acting on the missile will change. One of the difficulties faced by missile designers is to determine the optimum fins location. This paper presents a study on the effect of asymmetric fins location on aerodynamic characteristic of a missile. The study was done using Ansys Workbench 14.Two opposite fins were moved forward from their original positions to three locations; i.e. 4cm, 8cm and 12cm. The simulation started with 0° angle of attack until 22.5° with 2.5° increment for every angle. In Ansys 14, the turbulence Spalart Almaras model with one equation was chosen. The result from this study shows that the aerodynamic performance of the missile was affected by the changing of fins position. The best fins locations for a missile were found to be at two locations, 7.9cm or 10.1cm from its actual position. Keywords : Missile; Aerodynamic Characteristic; Fins performance; Missile Simulation