AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISITICS OF A MISSILE COMPONENTS

Abstract

A Missile is a self-propelled guided weapon system that travels through air or space. A powered, guided munitions that travels through the air or space is known as a missile (or guided missile). The Missile is defined as a space transversing unmanned vehicle that contains the means for controlling its flight path. The aerodynamic characteristics of a missile components such as body, wing and tail are calculated by using analytical methods to predict the drag and the normal forces of the missile. The total drag of the body is computed by using the parasite drag, wave drag, skin friction drag and base drag. The wing surface normal force coefficient (CN)Wing is a function of Mach number, local angle of attack, aspect ratio, and the wing surface plan form area (CN)Wing , based on the missile reference area, decreases with increasing supersonic Mach number and increases with angle of attack and the wing surface area. When the wing surface area is reduced the total weight of the missile and drag are reduced thereby increasing the lift and achieve excessive stability.