Attitude control of projectile in impact tests

As a convenient and economic loading mode, the gun tests are widely used in high-speed impact tests and play an important role in terminal effects research of missile warheads and projectile. In the tests, the accuracy can be significantly influenced by the projectile's attitude. The attitude control method for short-distance flying projectiles was discussed, the movement characteristics of its barycenter was analyzed, and its attack angle before impacting target was calculated also. The results show that, in the flight distance less than 12m, the projectile attitude does not change significantly owing to the effect of the pitch moment, without reference to its stability. Then, it is concluded that the projectile attitude does not result from its stability but depends on the initial disturbances mainly. Finally, the causes of initial disturbances and the influencing factors were discussed, and then the method for the projectile attitude control was proposed. Two examples are also given to support the conclusion.