A study of the influence of the front and rear wing interference on the lift characteristics of the ‘diamond-back’ wing kit

Abstract

The ‘diamond-back’ wing kit is connected by hinges with the front and rear wings, which can be folded and expanded. As folded, it can be attached to the surface of the missile body. The ‘diamond-back’ wing kit will have good prospects for application in future embedded weapon systems under conditions of critical weapon size requirements. Unlike the traditional single swept-back wing layout, the diamondback wing has significant aerodynamic interferences due to the close position of the front and rear wings; recognition and rational use of the aerodynamic interference between the two sets of wings is of great significance in the shape design of similar "diamondback" wings. This paper carries out a study of the lift characteristics of the diamondback wing by numerical simulation, and analyses the variation of the lift characteristics of the front and rear wing components with Mach number due to the interference between the front and rear wings. In particular, the effect on the nonlinear characteristics of the slope of the lift line versus Mach number in the transonic range due to the generation of shock waves on the upper and lower wing surfaces is investigated. The results of the study show that the influence of the front wing on the rear wing is mainly reflected in the downwash effect, and the slope of the lift curve of the rear wing layout is significantly reduced compared with the case without front wing interference. The interference of the rear wing with the front wing causes the suction peak on the upper surface of the front wing to increase, and as the Mach number increases, the damping effect of the rear wing causes the acceleration of the fluid on the upper and lower wing surfaces of the front wing to flatten out compared to the layout of the front wing alone. Overall, the "diamond-back" wing can improve the nonlinearity of the lift characteristics of the wing-body combination with the variation of Mach number to a certain degree through the combination of the front wing and the rear wing, and the mutual interference of the two sets of wings in aerodynamic aspect.