High Fidelity Missile Hardbody Plume Interaction Modeling

The development of innovative sensor technologies requires a complete (both spectral and spatial) knowledge of missile hardbody and exhaust plume signature characteristics of current and evolving threat systems. However, measurement programs alone on domestic and foreign ballistic missiles cannot provide the level of characterization necessary to fully support sensor and algorithm development. Therefore the use of advanced computational models to provide threat signatures is critical to the design of sensors and engagement scenarios on all platforms. The current hardbody signature prediction methodologies in the Optical Signatures Code (OSC)contains physics-based models to account for the missile trajectory, aerodynamics aerodynamic heating and hardbody thermal response. However, several potentially important propulsion system and plume heating effects on the hardbody (e.g. plume-induced boundary layer separation, internal propulsion system heating, missile base heating, etc.) during the boost phase have been neglected. Thus, there are potential inaccuracies in predicted IR signatures which can lead to problems with interceptor design and performance. These issues are addressed in this Phase II SBIR, in which our principal technical objectives are to develop: (1) models to calculate the effects of propulsion system and plume-hardbody interactions on hardbody temperatures and signatures and (2) a Common Flowfield Solver for both body and plume flowfields which will be integrated into the OSC.