Numerical Investigation of the Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Missile Geometry at Mach 4

The aim of this paper is to present a numerical analysis of high-speed flows over a missile geometry. The N1G missile has been selected for our study, which is subjected to a high-speed flow at Mach 4 over a range of Angle of attack (AoA) from 0^° to 6^°. The analysis has been conducted for a 3-dimensional missile model using ANSYS environment. The study contemplates to provide new insights into the missile aerodynamic performance which includes the coefficient of lift (C_L), coefficient of drag (C_D) and coefficient of moment (C_M) using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). As there is a lack of availability of data for missile geometries, such as free stream conditions and/or the experimental data for a given Mach number, this paper intends to provide a detailed analysis at Mach 4. As the technology is advancing, there is a need for high-speed weapons (missiles) with a good aerodynamic performance, which intern will benefit in reduction of fuel consumption. In order to meet the requirements, aerodynamic shape optimization can be performed. This paper will create a basic knowledge about the N1G missiles aerodynamic performance at Mach 4. This can be referred in future studies into the hypersonic regime and shape optimization to get the best suited geometry with high aerodynamic performance for a given free stream condition.