High Speed Flight Control Techniques

The development of innovative control techniques required for next generation maneuvering high speed vehicles is proposed.The Armys requirement for future hypersonic vehicles with enhanced maneuverability and extended flight times requires the formulation of control concepts that address the deficiencies in established aerodynamic control techniques when flying at hypersonic speeds.These advanced control options can be based on variations of traditional aerodynamic and/or propulsive methods and may require development of innovative vehicle shapes with characteristics beyond those of traditional waverider concepts.Other physical phenomena that require consideration include aerodynamic heating of the vehicle surfaces, ablation, transition, and regions of rarefied flow.To analyze these high-speed control concepts, CRAFT Techs CFD framework that contains many of the submodels for accurately modeling supersonic and hypersonic flow will be used.Additional analytical models that can demonstrate flyout and maneuvering capability in a six degree of freedom simulation will be employed.This Phase II program involves the formulation, simulation and assessment of innovative concepts and vehicle shapes to satisfy the maneuverability requirements in the anticipated hypersonic flight regime. These concepts will be optimized and their control and maneuverability performance demonstrated utilizing a six degree of freedom simulation supplemented with three dimensional CFD analyses.