Numerical investigation of the shock interaction effect on the lateral jet controlled missile

A computational study on the supersonic flow around the lateral jet controlled missile has been performed. A three-dimensional Navier–Stokes computer code (AADL 3D) has been developed and case studies have been performed by comparing the normal force coefficient and the moment coefficient of a missile body. Different jet flow conditions including jet pressures and jet Mach numbers, and the circumferential jet positions have been incorporated into the case studies. The missile surface is divided into four regions with respect to the center of gravity, and the normal force and moment distribution at each region are compared. The results show conspicuously different normal force and moment variations according to each parameter variation. From the detailed flow field analyses, it has been verified that most of the normal force loss and the pitching moment generation are taking place at the low-pressure region behind the jet nozzle. Furthermore, it is shown that the pitching moment can be efficiently reduced by the lateral thrust obtained through higher jet Mach number rather than high jet pressure. Thus, an angle of yaw is more effective for missile control by side jet than an angle of attack.