Numerical investigation of unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of a pitching missile

Numerical simulations for three-dimensional Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations are carried out to predict the flowfield characteristics of a pitching winged missile based on the finite volume method. The Baldwin-Lomax eddy viscosity model with the modifications suggested by Degani and Schiff is used here. The computational results of the aerodynamic loads of a 76° swept delta wing with a pitching motion are also given, which are in good agreement with the experiment data. The unsteady aerodynamics about a winged missile, which oscillates in pitching with different frequencies, at different oscillating positions and at different range of angle of attack, are shown in this paper. It is found, from the computational results, that the unsteady hysteresis of the lift, the drag and the pitch moment coefficients vary not only with the frequency, but also with the position of the oscillating axis. When the missile oscillates in pitching within different ranges of the angle of attack, the derivative of lift coefficient with respect to the angle of attack is the same for the same phase of oscillation under the same reduced frequency condition.