Unsteady performance of a supersonic slender vehicle during spreading of the front wings

To research the unsteady performance of a supersonic vehicle during spreading of the front wings at high angle of attack, an unsteady numerical method based on the moving structure grid technique and Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) has been developed. The process of spreading of the front wings for a supersonic vehicle with large slenderness ratio has been investigated. Detailed unsteady progress of the flow field structure during spreading of the front wings is obtained. Variation in the aerodynamic characteristics such as the normal force coefficient and the center of pressure with spread angles of the front wing is analyzed. The results show that there is obviously unsteady effect and intense interference on the regions around the front wings and rear fins at high angle of attack during spreading of the front wings. After the spreading of the front wings, the center of pressure of the vehicle is moved forward by about 4.1%, and the static stability of the vehicle is reduced. Moreover, the normal force coefficient is increased by about 15.6%, and the aerodynamic overload is improved. These variations are good for enhancing the maneuverability of the vehicle. © 2018, Press of Chinese Journal of Aeronautics. All right reserved.