On the Swerve Response of Projectiles to Control Input

The swerve response of fin- and spin-stabilized projectiles to control mechanism input is sometimes not intuitive and often surprises smart weapon designers. This report seeks to explain the basic parameters that govern swerve of projectiles excited by control input. By modeling the overall effect o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ollerenshaw, Douglas, Costello, Mark
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammunition and Explosives
CONTROL SYSTEMS
FIN STABILIZED AMMUNITION
INPUT
PARAMETERS
PROJECTILE NOSES
PROJECTILES
RESPONSE
SPIN STABILIZED AMMUNITION
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Summary:The swerve response of fin- and spin-stabilized projectiles to control mechanism input is sometimes not intuitive and often surprises smart weapon designers. This report seeks to explain the basic parameters that govern swerve of projectiles excited by control input. By modeling the overall effect of any control mechanism as a non-rolling reference frame force or moment applied to the projectile, we obtain general expressions for swerve in terms of basic vehicle parameters. These compact expressions are used to show that maximum swerve response for a fin-stabilized projectile is achieved when the force is applied near the nose of the projectile, while maximum swerve response for a spin-stabilized projectile is achieved when the force is applied near the base of the projectile. The original document contains color images. Prepared in cooperation with Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.