Development of 4-DOF Flight Dynamic Model of a High-Speed Projectile Using Wind Tunnel Testing

This research utilized subsonic Wind Tunnel Testing (WTT) for proposing Flight Dynamic Model (FDM) of a High-Speed Projectile (HSP). The reference platform is taken as medium range surface to air missile (SAM). The research started with a collection of Point Cloud Data (PCD) through surface scanning and then developing a computational aided design (CAD) using CATIA®. 1/third scale down aluminum-based metal model was fabricated using lathe, milling and CNC milling machines. The aluminum model was tested inside wind tunnel at 6 different configurations among which 2 are without side rail while other 4 configurations have side rail installed over the body. The WTT were conducted for −15 °  ≤ α ≤  + 15° at free stream velocities of 50mph, 100mph and 150mph with an objective to obtain necessary aerodynamic coefficients and stability derivatives. The validation of stability derivatives was carried out with CFD work which utilized ICEM CFD ® as meshing software and Fluent® as solver. Statistical software MISDAT®, was used to obtain dynamic stability derivatives. The static and dynamic stability derivatives were used to propose 4-DOF Flight Dynamic Model of the HSP. FDM so obtained was then used to predict the projectile’s behavior across different flight conditions ensuring optimal stability and control throughout its trajectory.