High-Maneuverability Airframe: Initial Investigation of Configuration's Aft End for Increased Stability, Range, and Maneuverability

An effort was undertaken to begin development of a high maneuverability airframe for use in the moving target portion of the 2013 U.S. Army Research Laboratory Low-Cost Hyper-Accurate Weapon mission program. To this end, a computational analysis of possible body-fin configurations, with particular emphasis on the aft end of the projectile, was completed to determine the aerodynamic coefficients. For the initial configuration, a complete grid resolution, turbulence model, and computational code version study were completed. The computational aerodynamic coefficients for the body-fin configurations were integrated with previously determined canard aerodynamic coefficients for use in an aerodynamic optimization routine. The aerodynamic optimization routine allowed for approximate determination of necessary fin and canard characteristics to enable a highly maneuverable airframe. The artillery boattail aft end was chosen as the configuration to proceed with foroptimization, with the inclusion of canard interaction effects.
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