Experimental and Analytical Jet Vane Development

The jet vane is located in the aft region of the missile propulsion system nozzle and is used as a Thrust Vector Control device. In order for the jet vane to function properly, it must be designed to survive the thermal and erosive environment of the propulsion system gas stream. An improved jet vane is one that is lighter in weight and smaller in size than the current design but does not compromise any of its TVC capability. A reliable and easy to use design procedure is, therefore, sought to optimize the jet vane configuration. A combined analytical and experimental effort is proposed to develop this design procedure. The analytical effort will employ Computational Fluid Dynamics in conjunction with a Boundary Element Method thermal analysis and a G-Law erosion model to develop a jet vane design methodology. The experimental effort will investiage potential materials applicable to the jet vane. A subscale jet vane will be fabricated for testing to obtain data which can be used to verify the design methodology and also thermal capability of several high temperature materials. The balanced theoretical and experimental program will serve to establish the basis of a reliable design methodology for optimizing jet vane configuration.