Experimental and numerical investigation of the vortical flow on the transonic missile LK6E2

Abstract

In this study, the vortical flow on the generic transonic missile DLR-LK6E2 is analyzed using wind tunnel data and compared with results of numerical simulations. In this context, the use of pressuresensitive paint and oil film interferometry data have proven to be particularly beneficial. By combining the two measurement methods, the development of the flow separation on the wings of the missile could be examined in detail. It was found that the initially identical flow development on two of the missile’s four wings suddenly diverged above a certain angle of attack for a roll angle of 45 degree and a Mach number of 0.85. This effect is clearly reflected in the rolling moments by a local break in the angle of attack-dependent curve. A comparison of these results with those from RANS simulations shows that a good agreement between experiment and numeric with regard to the rolling moment can only be achieved if the flow asymmetry is also predicted by the RANS simulations. Otherwise, the rolling moment increases continuously.