Investigation of Missile Control Surface Effects on F-16 Limit-Cycle Oscillation

Abstract

Tactical aircraft with thin wings and heavy external wing stores are susceptible to aeroelastic limit-cycle oscillations. This investigation applies both frequency-domain and time-domain solutions using aeroelastic computational models to predict limit-cycle oscillation onset, frequency, and amplitude on an F-16. The test configuration uses missile shapes with reconfigurable aerodynamic and mass properties. Statistical analysis of flight-test results identifies significant experimental variables of missile aerodynamic configuration, flight condition, and aircraft fuel state. Furthermore, statistical analysis permits the normalization of flight-test results for direct comparison to aeroelastic models. Results of the comparison show that flight-test data analysis mostly supports the prediction trends, but the magnitude of the aerodynamic effects due to the canards and fins is much less significant in the test data.