Shape Optimization of the Cross-Section for Noncircular Hypersonic Missile Forebody

Abstract

In the hypersonic regime, noncircular missiles have attracted significant attention from researchers. The paper first summarizes the development and present situation of the noncircular missiles at home and abroad. Previous research found that the cross-section shape of missiles has a direct influence on the aerodynamics performance. To find the best cross-section shape in terms of lift-drag-ratio, an efficient and robust shape optimization framework is developed. Class/shape function transformation (CST) method and power-law curve are introduced to complete the parametric modeling of the noncircular missile. The evolutionary algorithm has been utilized to improve the optimization efficiency. A combination of script and journal files is written to automate the CAD loft, mesh generation, and CFD simulations process. Finally, the forebody section of a missile body is chosen as an example to deliver the whole optimization steps. The optimization results show that the lift-to-drag ratio increases from 1.8 to 2.4 when the hypersonic missile forebody cruises at the design condition. The results also demonstrate that the optimized configuration has a better aerodynamic performance than the original one over a wide speed range from Mach 2 to 8 and a wide attack of angle range from 0 to 30.