Aerodynamic performance improvement of a canard control missile

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the influence of the changings in geometrical parameters on the aerodynamic performance of the control canard projectiles. Design/methodology/approach Because of the mentioned point, the range of projectiles increment has a considerable importance, and the design algorithm of a control canard projectile was first written. Then, were studied the effects of canard geometric parameters such as aspect ratio, taper ratio and deflectable nose on lift to drag coefficient ratio, static margin based on the slender body theory and cross section flow. Findings The code results show that aspect ratio increment, results in an increase in lift-to-drag ratio of the missile, but increase in canard taper ratio results in increasing of lift-to-drag ratio at 1° angle of attack, while during increasing the canard taper ratio up to 0.67 at 4° angle of attack, lift to drag first reaches to maximum and then decreases. Also, static margin decreases with canard taper ratio and aspect ratio increment. The developed results for this type of missile were compared with same experimental and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) results and appreciated agreement with other results at angles of attack between 0° and 6°. Practical implications To design a control canard missile, the effect of each geometric parameter of canard needs to be estimated. For this purpose, the suitable algorithm is used. In this paper, the effects of canard geometric parameters, such as aspect ratio, taper ratio and deflectable nose on lift-to-drag coefficient ratio and static margin, were studied with help of the slender body theory and cross-section flow. Originality/value The contribution of this paper is to predict the aerodynamic characteristics for the control canard missile. In this study, the effect of the design parameter on aerodynamic characteristics can be estimated, and the effect of geometrical characteristics has been analyzed with a suitable algorithm. Also, the best lift-to-drag coefficient for the NASA Tandem Control Missile at Mach 1.75 was selected at various angles of attack. The developed results for this type of missile were compared with same experimental and CFD results.