TACTICAL MISSILE

GUIDANCE AND CONTROL

CHAPTER 2
MISSILE AERODYNAMICS
INTRODUCTION
MOTION OF GUIDED
MISSILE
 TWO TYPES
 TRANSLATIONAL MOTION OF CENTRE
OF GRAVITY OF THE MISSILE
 ROTATIONAL MOTION ABOUT THE
CENTRE OF GRAVITY OF THE MISSILE
FORCES AND MOMENTS
ON A MISSILE
 FORCES ACTING ON A MISSILE IN
FLIGHT GENERALLY NOT APPLIED AT
THE CENTRE OF GRAVITY (C.G.) OF THE
MISSILE
 EACH FORCE CAN BE DECOMPOSED
INTO TWO PARTS
 FORCES THAT CAUSE TRANSLATIONAL
MOTION OF C.G.
 MOMENTS THAT CAUSE ROTARY MOTION
WITH RESPECT TO C.G.
FORCES ACTING ON A
MISSILE
 TRANSLATIONAL MOTION OF C.G.
IN FLIGHT CAN BE DUE TO
 ENGINE THRUST,T
 RESULTANT AERODYNAMIC FORCES
i.e., LIFT, L & DRAG, D
 EARTH’S GRAVITATIONAL FORCE, G
FORCES ACTING ON A
MISSILE
FORCES ACTING ON A
MISSILE
 V is the velocity vector.
 T is the engine thrust.
 D is the drag force (aerodynamic force component
acting opposite to velocity vector).
 L is the lift (aerodynamic force component directed
perpendicular to velocity vector).
 G is the gravitational force acting vertically
downwards .
 Θ is the trajectory angle or angle between velocity
vector and horizontal.
 ν is the pitch angle or angle between thrust vector
and horizontal. This determines the position of the
missile longitudinal axis with respect to horizontal.
 R is the resultant of the aerodynamic forces L and
D.
FORCES ACTING ON A
MISSILE
 FORCES CAUSING TRANSLATIONAL
MOTION CAN BE RESOLVED INTO
TWO COMPONENTS
 COMPONENTS ACTING IN THE
DIRECTION OF FLIGHT, FT
 COMPONENTS ACTING
PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION
OF FLIGHT, FN
FORCES ACTING ON A
MISSILE
FORCES ACTING ON A
MISSILE
 FORCE FT CHANGES THE VALUE OF
THE VELOCITY VECTOR
 FORCE FN CHANGES THE
DIRECTION OF MOTION OF THE
MISSILE.
 HENCE IN ORDER TO CONTROL
THE DIRECTION OF MOTION OF
THE MISSILE, IT IS REQUIRED TO
CONTROL FN.
FORCES ACTING ON A
MISSILE
 VALUE OF ANGLE OF ATTACK
DURING THE MISSILE FLIGHT IS
COMPARATIVELY SMALL
 ASSUMPTION : sin α=α
 FORCES ACTING ON A
MISSILE
 FOR SMALL ANGLES OF ATTACK

• HENCE
FORCES ACTING ON A
MISSILE
 GRAVITY FORCE COMPONENT –
G*COS Θ CANNOT BE USED AS A
CONTROL FORCE
 THUS DIRECTION OF MOTION CAN BE
CONTROLLED BY CHANGING THE
COMPONENT WHICH CONSISTS OF
THE LIFT AND THRUST COMPONENTS.
 FOR A CONSTANT THRUST, T, FORCE
FN WILL BE PROPORTIONAL TO THE
ANGLE OF ATTACK, α.
 HENCE IT IS REQUIRED TO CREATE
AN ANGLE OF ATTACK IN ORDER TO
FORCES ACTING ON A
MISSILE
 ANGLE OF ATTACK CAN BE CHANGED BY
CANARD OR TAIL CONTROL.
 IN CASE OF CANARD CONTROL, THE
NOSE PART OF THE MISSILE IS
PROVIDED WITH RUDDERVATORS
WHICH CONTROL THE TRANSLATIONAL
(PITCH AND YAW) (AND AILERONS FOR
ROTARY (ROLL)) MOTION OF THE
MISSILE WITH RESPECT TO C.G. BY
CHANGING THE ANGLE OF ATTACK.
MOMENTS ACTING ON A MISSILE

 MOMENTS THAT CAUSE

ROTATIONAL MOTION OF THE
MISSILE IN FLIGHT CAN BE DUE TO
 CONTROL MOMENTS OF
RUDDERVATORS AND AILERONS
 DISTURBING AND STABILISING
MOMENTS
CONTROL MOMENTS
ACTING ON A MISSILE
 IF THE AILERON DEVIATES
THROUGH AN ANGLE δ FROM ITS
EQUILIBRIUM POSITION, THIS
CREATES AN ANGLE OF ATTACK
DUE TO WHICH LIFT IS GENERATED
BY THE AILERON. THIS IS SHOWN
IN FIG. 2.
CONTROL MOMENTS
ACTING ON A MISSILE
 CONSIDERING THAT THE LIFT, LA, IS
GENERATED ALONG THE Y AXIS, THE
AILERON GENERATES TWO MOMENTS,
ONE ALONG THE X AXIS AND THE
OTHER ALONG THE Z AXIS GIVEN BY
PRODUCT OF THE LIFT, LA, AND THE
DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CENTRE OF
PRESSURE (C.P.) OF AILERON AND
CENTRE OF GRAVITY (C.G.) OF THE
MISSILE ALONG THE X/Z AXIS
CONTROL MOMENTS
ACTING ON A MISSILE
 AILERONS 1 AND 2 ARE
INTERCONNECTED
 ANY DEFLECTION OF ONE OF THEM
CREATES A DEFLECTION EXACTLY
OPPOSITE ON THE OTHER, I.E., IF
ONE OF THEM DEFLECTS UPWARD,
THE OTHER DEFLECTS
DOWNWARD
DISTURBING AND STABILISING
MOMENTS
 MISSILE IS SUBJECTED TO EXTERNAL
DISTURBANCES LIKE GUST OF WIND ETC. , AS
ALSO AERODYNAMIC MOMENTS DUE TO
UNCERTAINTY IN DESIGN PARAMETERS
 DISTURBING MOMENTS TEND TO TURN THE
MISSILE WITH RESPECT TO ITS C.G. WHICH IS
UNDESIRED
 STABILISING MOMENTS COUNTERACT THE
DISTURBING MOMENTS THUS PREVENTING THE
TURNING OF THE MISSILE AND HELPING IT TO
RETAIN ITS INITIAL POSITION
 THIS IS GENERALLY CALLED ROLL
STABILISATION.
STABILISING MOMENTS ON
A MISSILE
 STABILISING MOMENTS CAN BE
CATEGORISED AS
 STATIC STABILITY MOMENTS
 DAMPING MOMENTS
 INERTIA MOMENTS