Influence of control device on store separation from an open cavity

Abstract

The influence of a flow control device on store separation from an internal cavity is examined using a wind-tunnel drop-test (WTDT) method, which is based on dynamic similarity. In the wind-tunnel test, an open cavity with a length-to-depth ratio of R=7.76 is employed. An ejection mechanism driven using two cylinders is designed using the CATIA software and is virtually simulated using automatic dynamic analysis of mechanical systems (ADAMS). The store is designed using the light Mach scaling method. Conditions involving a cuboid control device (CCD) and no control device (NCD) for the open cavity are compared. Furthermore, both the scaled and higher ejection forces are employed in the test. The results indicate that a CCD installed in front of the cavity can effectively improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the flow field, which is beneficial for the store to rapidly pass through the interferential flow field of the cavity. Owing to the pitching moment acting on the internal store, the head of the store exhibits a nose-up configuration under both the CCD and NCD conditions; however, the value of the pitching moment coefficient in the CCD case is smaller than in the NCD case.