An Analysis of Aerodynamic Control for Direct Fire Spinning Projectiles

There exists a significant potential for improving the accuracy of direct fire spinning projectiles through the implementation of aerodynamic control. Of particular interest is the use of micro synthetic jets, which achieve force or moment control by interacting with the flow. Guidance and control methods need to be specially tailored for this application so that they require minimum control effort, and take maximum advantage of the dynamic characteristic of the projectile. We describe and evaluate a guidance algorithm that is well suited for force control. Results show a dramatic improvement in the impact point miss distance over an uncontrolled projectile, with very modest control effort. We also consider the effect that moments induced by actuation process can have on performance. Notation