An Experiment Investigation Of Grid Fin Aerodynamic Characteristic

An wind tunnel investigation is conducted on grid fins of three different relative intervals and a conventional planar fm over a range of Mach number from 0.6 to 2.0; and aerodynamic coefficients are generated for various body configurations. Flow visualization show flow characteristic of grid walls at supersonic speed M=2.0 at different angle of attacks and relative intervals, as well as measure surface pressure of grid walls. Surface pressure is calculated by using shock expansion wave theory in supersonic flow. Appropriate relative interval can be chosen from experiment and calculation. The results indicate that there are a lot of specific features of grid fin aerodynamic characteristics. The use of grid fins as aerodynamic stabilizers and control surfaces of missile seems much better than conventional planar fin in many aspects.