A Preliminary Flexible Fin Deployment Simulation

Abstract

A flexible-fin decelerator to orient and stabilize 'smart' submunitions has been developed and patented (ref 1). These submunitions are ejected from a rapidly spinning projectile and descend vertically over a battlefield, searching for armored targets (fig. 1). The flexible fin drives the submunition in a lunar motion at a predetermined steady state spin rate and fall velocity. A lunar motion is required for target scan and for the sensor to lead the warhead axis. Since the submunitions are ejected from a rapidly spinning projectile (up to 260 Hz), reliable deployment of the flexible fin could be a problem. The objective of the present work is to develop a numerical simulation to model the deployment of a flexible-fin decelerator from a rapidly spinning body. Such a simulation allows for the evaluation of various fin packing techniques and fin strength without resorting to the usual cut-and-try test procedures.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA198204

Entities

People

  • Walter Koenig

Organizations

  • United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Aerodynamic Forces
  • Air Force
  • Battlefields
  • Boundaries
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Deployment
  • Engineering
  • Equations
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Molecular Dynamics
  • Munitions
  • Projectiles
  • Simulations
  • Submunitions
  • Two Dimensional
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • ballistics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers