An experimental study was completed to determine the effectiveness of modifications to the nose cone of a subsonic (M=0.3) missile to improve the properties of the articulating nose cone for flight control at subsonic Mach numbers. Three approaches were taken. One was the classic approach of adding aerodynamic surfaces (strakes) to the articulating part of the nose. Two sizes were applied. The second approach is to allow for a morphing nose that could flatten to provide more lifting surface and the third was to reshape the nose to shape of the head of bird of prey. The strakes were effective and provided an increase in the trimmed lift of the missile of over 500%. The strakes also provided a significant amount of drag. Flow over the strakes impacted flow over the tail even with 16.7 fineness ratio. Uncommanded side forces were present on the baseline nose cone for angles of attack greater than 10°. The side forces were nearly eliminated with small strakes. The morphing nose cone shape provided relatively lesser benefits.
展开▼
