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1. Introduction
There are multiple configurations and designs of projectile noses that are taken into account during the design stage. The final nose design is selected after considering aerodynamic, structural and guidance as well as Tactical-Technical-Requirements (TTR) of the mission. The case considered in this study is a 300 km range supersonic surface missile. As a result of having different requirements and restrictions there is no perfect configuration and the design undergoes various design changes till an optimum compromise is reached with the requirements mostly met [1]. One of the key considerations or factors of a projectiles aerodynamic consideration is the nose drag which will be the focus of this study. In general, there are three drag components, drag directly related to the cross-sectional of the projectile, skin-friction drag due to the contact between the surfaces of the projectile (roughness) with the surrounding air particles (viscosity), wave drag as a result of the shock wave and base drag as a result of bluntness and diameter of the base. In layman terms drag is a force which is parallel but in opposite direction to the direction of the velocity vector of an object and it is opposing the objects motion [2]. This paper focuses on the nose drag at supersonic speeds, taking speeds from Mach 2 to Mach 4. For this study a wingless body projectile, forebody with cylindrical afterbody considered. The drag will be studied on the aerodynamic aspect of the nose design. This study is a section of an ongoing study which considers four common nose shapes to be analysed for their drag aerodynamic performance; pointed (Fig. 1) and blunt cone (Fig. 2); and pointed (Fig. 3) and blunt ogive (Fig. 4). This paper presents the results for one shape only, the pointed conical nose.
2. Methodology
The aim of this study is to research what are the effects of a different nose configuration has on the drag of a projectile travelling at supersonic speeds. The goal is to produce a design table with selected parameters which would assist a projectile designer in selecting the optimum nose for the projectile. The parameters considered in the design table are drag coefficient and nose geometry. The main approach used in this study is the analytical approach. The drag of the noses are analyzed with mathematical formulas to calculate the three main components of drag that forms the zero-lift drag coefficient (Eq. 1)[1]; skin friction drag (Eq. 2) [3], wave drag (Eq. 3) [4] and base drag (Eq. 4) [3]. = + + (1) = (2) where CF represents the skin friction coefficient for a smooth/ flat plate and Sw the wetted area
= (3) 4 where, S is the wetted area, L is the length of the body, V is the volume and is a factor of geometry and Mach number
128
R L
Fig. 1 Pointed Cone.
where, is the base diameter, is the free stream velocity, is the ratio of specific heats, and are base pressure and free stream static pressure respectively To be more specific, the zero lift drag coefficient (dimensionless) basically describes the resistance of a particular body in the direction of the moving force or motion. The equation makes use of the wetted area and viscosity to determine the drag and is measured at zero angle of attack. Skin-friction drag is the result of viscous forces acting on the surface of the projectile. It is also very dependent on the wetted area. Wave drag describes the drag due to the interaction of the body with the flow particles and is related to shockwave energy losses. Base drag is the drag formed from the base pressure as a result of the bluntness at the object and is highly dependent on the size of the base.
2 2
(1
(4)
CDw
0. 3 0. 2 0. 1 0 2 3 4 5
Mach Number
Fig. 8 Wave Drag, Cdw as a Function of Fineness Ratio and Mach Number.
Figure 8 demonstrates that the change in wave drag is mostly affected by the fineness ratio. As the fineness ratio increases the wave drag decreases. This agrees with the logic that an increased fineness ratio makes the nose more slender where it is able to stay in the Mach cone with minimal air disturbance. When compared to the skin friction drag, the drag coefficient values in general are much higher especially at low fineness ratios.
CD
0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 0 2 3 4 5
Mach Number
Fig .6 Total Drag Coefficient, CD as a Function of Fineness Ratio and Mach Number.
0. 02 F ine ne s s R a t io=1 F ine ne s s R a t io=2 0. 015 F ine ne s s R a t io=3 F ine ne s s R a t io=4 F ine ne s s R a t io=5
CDsf
0. 01
References
1. Mahdi, A. and Al-Atabi, M. (2008) Effect of Body Shape on the Aerodynamics of Projectiles at Supersonic Speeds. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology (JESTEC), 3 (3), 278-292. 2. Bertin, J.J., and Cummings, R.M., (2009). Aerodynamics for engineers. New Jersey, Pearson/ Prentice Hall. 3. Mccoy, R. (1981). "MC DRAG"- A Computer Program for Estimating the Drag Coefficients of Projectiles. [report] Maryland: US Army Armament Research and Development Command. 4. Sadreay, M. (2009). Aircraft Performance Analysis. Saarbrcken, VDM Verlag Dr. Mller. 5. Crowell Sr, G. (1996). The Descriptive Geometry of Nose Cones. Miscellaneous Paper.
0. 005
Mach Number
Fig .7 Skin Friction Drag, CDsf as a Function of Fineness Ratio and Mach Number.
Figure 7 displays the behavior of the skin friction drag that increases in proportion with the fineness ratio. This is consistent with Eq. 2 that contains the variable which is the wetted area (area of reference). By increasing the fineness ratio, the geometry of the nose also increases and thus leads to an increase in surface area. Next, based on (Eq. 4), it can be noted that the base drag is independent of the shape and fineness ratio of the nose. It is only affected by the base diameter and Mach number which also in turn influences the base pressure.