Numerical Computations of Supersonic Flow over Non-Axisymmetric Configurations

Abstract

This paper describes a computational study undertaken to determine the aerodynamics of non-axisymmetric missiles with square and elliptic cross-sections. Numerical solutions have been obtained at supersonic speeds for various roll orientations and angles of attack using a twoequation Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence model. Numerical results show the qualitative features (vortices and cross-flow separation regions) of the flow field at various streamwise positions along the missile configurations. Aerodynamic coefficients have been obtained from the computed solutions and found to match well with the available experimental data for these configurations. These numerical results show the ability of computational fluid dynamics technique to accurately predict the aerodynamics of non-axisymmetric missiles with non-circular cross-sections and multiple set of fins.