Suggested Citation:
Logan, William V., Roger L. Davis, Nesrin Sarigul-Klijn (2008) Forebody Strake Effects on Rocket Aerodynamic Characteristics at High Angles of Attack. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets 45 (4), 691 - 697

The results of a numerical investigation of the forebody strake effects on an air-launched rocket's aerodynamic characteristics at low Mach number and high angles of attack are presented. Forces and moments on a generic rocket that might be used in an air-launch system are predicted using a validated three-dimensional Navier-Stokes code. Asymmetric aerodynamic side forces and yaw moments are observed to occur under certain conditions with 0-deg sideslip, creating conditions of asymmetry. Forces such as these have been observed experimentally on a variety of aerospace vehicles. The effects of forebody strakes on the aerodynamic side forces and yaw moments are presented for 0-deg sideslip angle of attack. In addition, the sources of the aerodynamic characteristics are described. Results show that the forebody strakes reduce side forces and yaw moments by decreasing the magnitude of the streamline vortical interaction and therefore weakening the asymmetric vortical interactions that cause unstable aerodynamic characteristics.