• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.609-615
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• 2021

Three-dimensional numerical study was carried out to evaluate the aerodynamic characteristics of the supersonic grid fins installed on SpaceX Falcon 9. The present three-dimensional flow results were compared to the results by the concept of the unit grid fin previously introduced for more efficient and simpler flow calculations, and the validity of the approach of the unit grid fin were evaluated. The aerodynamic characteristics in supersonic flights Mach 2.8 of SpaceX Falcon 9 with various angle of attacks were also obtained.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.23-33
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• 2019

A sub-munition which has low aspect ratio does not have flight stability and control of drag force under free-fall condition. In order to satisfy those problems, fin, which is called grid-fin, is designed instead of conventional flight fins and adapted to the sub-munition. The base model of the sub-munition is firstly set and numerical simulation of the model is conducted under transonic condition that is free-fall range of the sub-munition. Wind test is secondly performed to verify the simulation result. The result shows that grid fin adapted sub-munition has high drag force, but the flight stability is still needed. In order to enhance the flight stability, two additional grid-fins are designed which modify web-thickness and numerical simulations of modified models are conducted. As the results, the thinnest web-thickness grid-fin has the highest flight stability and still maintains high drag coefficient. Based on these results, design of grid-fin adapted sub-munition is completed, the path trajectory of the sub-munition can be predicted with acquired aerodynamic datum and it is expected that grid fin can be used to various shape of the flight vehicle and bomb.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.48 no.10
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• pp.745-752
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• 2020

A numerical study was carried out to evaluate the aerodynamic characteristics of the supersonic grid fins installed on SpaceX Falcon 9. The unit-grid-fin concept was utilized for more efficient and simpler 3-D steady flow calculations. Pre- and post-correction processes that accounted the interference effects by the angle of attack of the missile, the influences of the outer frame of the grid fin and the connecting rods were improved in the study, and it was demonstrated that the present correction method was more accurate as compared to previous studies. Finally, the present approach was applied to evaluate the aerodynamic characteristics in transonic/supersonic flights of SpaceX Falcon 9 with various angle of attacks.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.721-727
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• 2021

In this paper, aerodynamic characteristics of missile configuration with various grid fins in subsonic flow. To investigate the effects of grid fin shape, four types of experimental models were used. In addition, to examine aerodynamic characteristics of missile configurations with various grid fins according to effects of Reynolds numbers and configurations of grid fins, 6-components aerodynamic forces and moments were measured by internal balance in wind tunnel test.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.149-158
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• 2023

To predict the aerodynamic characteristics of the grid fins from subsonic to supersonic speeds, low fidelity SW as well as CFD SW were applied. VLM(Vortex Lattice Method) and SE(Shock-Expansion) method were used at subsonic and supersonic speed domain respectively for the rapid prediction of low fidelity SW. For 2 configurations of the grid fins, the CFD computations and tests using the trisonic wind tunnel were also performed to compare the results of the grid fins. The results of low fidelity SW, CFD SW and the wind tunnel tests data were agreed well each other. Through further research on the grid fins, the effective parameters of the grid fin configurations according to the speed regime will be investigated.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.345-350
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• 2010

The repetitive vibrating action of an aerodynamic load causes an external fuel tank's horizontal fin to experience a shorter life cycle than its originally predicted one. Store separation analysis is needed to redesign the fin of an external fuel tank. In this research, free-drop tests were conducted using 15% scaled models in a subsonic wind tunnel in order to analyze the store separation characteristics of an external fuel tank. The store separation trajectory based on grid tests was also obtained to verify the results of the free-drop tests. The results acquired from the free-drop tests correlated well with the grid tests in regards to the trajectories and behavior of the stores separated from the aircraft. This agreement was especially noted in the early stages of the store separation.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.496-502
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• 2008

In this study, supersonic and hypersonic flutter characteristics have been analyzed for the various typical section shapes of missile fin configurations. Nonlinear flutter analyses are conducted considering the effect of moving shock waves. Computational fluid dynamic method is applied to accurately predict unsteady aerodynamic loads due to structural motions for the solution of aeroelastic governing equations. Commonly used typical section shapes of supersonic and hypersonic launch vehicles are considered in the present numerical study. Detailed flutter responses for four different typical section models are presented and the flutter characteristics are physically investigated.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.29 no.12 s.243
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• pp.1344-1351
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• 2005

Three-dimensional, time-dependent solutions of fluid flow past a circular cylinder with a periodic array of circular fins are obtained using an accurate and efficient spectral multidomain methodology. A Fourier expansion with a corresponding uniform grid is used along the circumferential direction. A spectral multidomain method with Chebyshev collocation is used along the r-z plane to handle the periodic array of circular fins attached to the surface of the cylinder. Unlike the flow past a circular cylinder, Second instabilities like mode A and mode B are not found in the Reynolds number range $100\~500$. It is found that three-dimensional instability of vortical structures is suppressed due to the presence of fin. The present numerical solutions report the detailed information of flow quantities near wake of finned cylinder.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.53-61
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• 2006

Axisymmetric numerical thermal analysis for a 3-dimensional regenerative cooling system in a rocket engine is carried out. To predict the accurate heat transfer with the stiff temperature distribution, several tests have been conducted for the grid size, the properties variation of the coolant and the combustion gas depending on temperature. The axisymmetric heat flux model is defined using fin efficiencies and is designed to be equivalent to the heat flux of the 3-dimensional coolant channel. For comparison purpose, the 1-dimensional analysis using Bartz equation is also conducted. The performance of the present model in predicting the cooling characteristics of a 3-dimensional regenerative cooling system is compared with the 3-dimensional results of RTE(Rocket Thermal Evaluation). It is found that the present method predicts much closer results to those of RTE code than 1-dimensional analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.20-25
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• 2007

The geometry of a commercial passenger airplane is realized based on a Boeing 747-400 model through the photographic scanning and reverse engineering. The each element consisting of the plane such as fuselage, wing, vertical fin, stabilizer and engines, is individually generated and then the whole body is assembled by the photomodeler. The maximum error in the realized airplane is about 1.4% comparing with the real one. The three-dimensional inviscid steady compressible governing equations are solved in the unstructured tetrahedron grid system, and in a finite volume method using STAR-CD when the airplane flies at the cruise condition. The pressure distribution on the surface and the wing-tip vortices are visualized, and in addition to the aerodynamics coefficients, lift and drag are estimated.