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ACTUATOR INTEGRATED MISSILE STEERING SYSTEM (AIMSS) FOR SUPERSONIC MISSILES

Orbital Research Inc 4415 Euclid Avenue, Suite 500 Cleveland, OH, 44103
Active Vents

Mr. Russell Stucke Phone: (216) 649-0399 Fax: (216) 649-0347 Email: stucke@orbitalresearch.com Website: www.orbitalresearch.com Command: ONR - SBIR Topic: N07-095

Spoilers

Actuator Integrated Missile Steering System - AIMSS

PROBLEM STATEMENT Currently, missile control systems use servo-based actuators and control surfaces such as canards, wings and fins for aerodynamic control and steering. These control surfaces are required to be thin to minimize drag on missiles, and at the same time, are required to be structurally robust to withstand the severe aerodynamic and thermal loading encountered during high-speed flight operations.1 Conflicting design requirements for the control system on missiles create a challenging structural problem for tactical missiles. Additionally, control surfaces often need to be folded or retracted in some manner in order to facilitate integration onto the launch platform (aircraft, launch cell on a ship, or a submarine). This feature adds complexity and cost to the design of the servo-based control actuation system and also demands significant real-estate in the missile tail section which could be otherwise utilized for other payload. These design features limit the performance and effective use of high speed, long range weapon systems. A new low cost flight control system will improve missile lethality by providing reduced size and complexity when compared to traditional servo-based systems. Orbital Research Inc. (ORI) is working towards revolutionizing the design of control systems for future missiles and projectiles by way of replacing traditional servo-based control mechanisms with state-of-the-art actuator-based control systems and advanced steering methods. The proposed Actuator Integrated Missile Steering System (AIMSS) alleviates many of the design and structural challenges faced by high-speed missiles that use large conventional control surfaces for aerodynamic control. The system design goal for AIMSS is to provide desired stability and control authority over a wide speed range from Mach 0.1 to 4 using unconventional deployable controls, while driving the overall weight, cost and drag of the system down.

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WHO CAN BENEFIT? Traditional control surfaces on missiles greatly complicate the design of the vehicle due to conflicting design requirements that significantly impact vehicle performance. Weapon designers must make trade-offs between mission duration, payload (fuel and warhead), range, maneuver footprint and cost when selecting traditional control surfaces. To alleviate these design constraints, the Orbital Research team has designed, tested and validated a platform technology termed Actuator Integrated Missile Steering System (AIMSS). This platform technology enables a family of AIMSS which are applicable on a range of slender bodies ranging in size, mission scenarios and speeds. AIMSS has the potential to revolutionize the performance of air-to-air missiles, rocket propelled grenades, active countermeasures, munitions and mortars (81mm, 105mm, 120mm and 155mm) and more. The AIMSS technology also has the potential to revolutionize the flight performance of next generation high speed cruise missiles which desire alternative flight control technologies. Hence, the platform technology will offer first or second tier system integrators or military suppliers a competitive advantage in the production of next generation weapon systems. For this Navy program, AIMSS is being evaluated on a generic expendable supersonic cruise missile platform for both the traditional long range cruise missiles and a sea skimming missile mission scenario. AIMSS will expand high-speed flight capabilities and improve performance to meet the design needs and costs for expendable supersonic vehicles. A major requirement for the generic cruise missile is to have a minimum speed threshold of at least Mach 3 and above. For both utility and usability, developers are challenged with making missiles compatible with air, surface and subsurface launch platforms such as fighter and bomber aircraft, ships and submarines. This requires the long range missiles to be highly flexible and compatible with diverse class platforms. Successfully addressing the combination of speed and launch platform flexibility challenges will enable missiles to have a range of attack capabilities and make it tactically responsive. For example, such a weapon can be used to strike long-range targets of opportunity or short-range targets that have small radar cross-sections that cannot be detected from far. Both of these missions require precision guidance and control to improve hit probability. The sponsor of the original solicitation is the Revolutionary Approach To Time-critical Long Range Strike (RATTLRS) program. The program is evaluating AIMSS for applicability for any missile system with long slender bodies.

BASELINE TECHNOLOGY Control forces for maneuvering missiles can either be generated by deflecting the fins or wings located on the missile body. Traditionally, the control of the fins or wings is done by servo mechanism. The sizes of these servos are dictated by the amount of torque required to rotate the fin about its axis. The large size of traditional fins causes their center of pressure to move over a relatively large region. This force and motion results in Orbital Research Inc Page 2 of 5

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large hinge moments, which is a measure of how much torque, and hence the size of servo required to rotate the fin to a new position. Large force and motion requirements increase the cost, size of the servo in an already dense, expensive, and volume sparse area. If larger servos are required, either additional space on the exterior of a missile or valuable space interior of the missile must be taken. Interior volume is typically used for engine space, propulsion and warhead. Alternatively, exterior space increases the radar cross section of the aircraft. Radar cross section might be minimal for short-range weapons like bombs but could be a significant concern for applications like long-range cruise missiles where the radar signatures are a priority on long range flights.

TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION The proposed Actuator Integrated Missile Steering System (AIMSS) incorporates mechanical actuators that are integrated with deployable flow effector that can assume the form of a miniature strake, spoiler, or any other shape that is found suitable for the given application. The basic function of a mechanical actuator is to augment momentum mixing using passive or low frequency excitation, which enhances the boundary layer and subsequently the upstream and downstream flow structures. In the case of an afterbody device, the actuator (spoiler) has been shown to act as aerobrakes which can be used to generate pitching and yawing moments at low angles of attack. Past studies have shown that an orchestrated deployment of deployable actuators can generate precise control forces for fine-tuning the missile/projectiles trajectory. An active-vent is a new control technique, which uses discretely configured vents (holes) around the circumference of the missile tail section to enable flow transpiration. This transpiration that flows from one section of the missile to the other is generated by natural pressure differences around the body. The basic idea in the active-vent technique is to rely on natural ventilation of air to affect the pressure distribution around the body. The ventilation holes can be relatively small and convectional valves may be used to achieve active control effects. Flow is induced naturally due to pockets of low and high pressure regions in the near-wall flowfield, and control is implemented by changing the vent patterns actively using conventional valves. This technique is particularly appealing due to its simplicity in design with no external moving parts (hence no parasitic drag), and as the flow speed increases, the pressure difference will increase around the base, which will scale the rate of flow transpiration without using any power for injection. The flow is self-limiting and power is required only to control the internal valves for closing and opening the vents. The effectiveness of a flow control actuator is largely characterized and dependent on its ability to exploit natural flow phenomena to achieve its control objective. The overarching benefits of an active flow control system over conventional control systems such as canards, fins and reaction jet control are cost reduction and improved efficiency which come from reductions in the volume, weight, and power consumption of the control system. In addition, the microactuator system enables fast response rate due to

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low inertia microdevices and also reduces the risks associated with control surface degradation due to aerothermal loading. The largest energy savings can be realized by using an actuator at regions of high receptivity whereby small perturbations are amplified through clever utilization of natural flow evolution and processes. Furthermore, the most efficient control scheme is one in which mass, momentum, or energy transfer is minimal. Both devices utilize the physical flow evolution processes to amplify the effect of the applied small disturbance, which requires them to expend less energy to generate a control force compared to the Table 1: Features, Advantages, and Benefits of the Orbital Research AIMSS technology
Features
Miniature Control Actuation System

Advantages
- Low power, weight and volume consumption - Increased bandwidth - Fast response - No exposed controls interrupting air flow - Enables in-flight maneuvering - Enables dynamic retargeting

Benefits
- Low cost per round - Increased payload (hence lethality and kill probability

Contained Design Built in steering mechanism

- Less Drag - Reduced Radar Signature - Improved threat interception and kill probability - Reduced aircraft susceptibility - Low acquisition cost - Low cost per unit

Retrofittable design

- Can be integrated into small and large slender bodies - Ease of implementation - Similar actuation schemes for diverse missions

traditional control methods.

CURRENT STATE OF DEVELOPMENT The AIMSS provides smaller, more efficient control for tactical missiles. As of October 2009, the AIMSS is at a TRL 3. Through this SBIR program, the Orbital Research team will address technical hurdles to design specifics within the AIMSS program. A combination of wind tunnel tests, USAF Missile Datcom simulations, CFD simulations, and 6DOF simulations will allow develop and determine the dimensions of the actuators, vent profiles, and control authority gained. Hence, at the completion of this SBIR program in September of 2010, the AIMSS will be at a TRL level 4. Orbital Research is seeking a partnership/licensing arrangement with a prime contractor to transition the AIMSS technology to military weapon platforms. The first or second tier military contractor will help identify and integrate remaining subsystems into a selected airframe; test and validate prototypes with all sub-systems; design and produce AIMSS with proper form, fit and function; perform meaningful live fire tests; and integrate with the air vehicle platform.

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REFERENCES NAVAIR Technical Point of Contact Phone Number: 760-939-8201 ABOUT THE COMPANY Orbital Research develops and commercializes new and innovative custom-engineered solutions using our expertise in sensors, actuators and electronics for various commercial and military applications. We promote and offer solutions designed to improve the performance, functionality, and cost-effectiveness of our customer's products. Furthermore, we host and support research organizations and corporations through scientific and technological developments. Our business groups consist of Aerodynamics, Advanced Systems, Medical, and Micro Devices. As a technology innovator founded in 1991, with offices and laboratories located in Cleveland, Ohio, Orbitals success has been driven by its expertise in microdevices electronics, aerodynamic design, and advanced controls. A partial list of recent successful programs that have contributed to this foundation include: Compact Deployable Aero Controls for Range and Control Enhancement of FCS Multi-Role Munitions; PII; Army; 2/18/2003-2/28/2006 Plasma Wing for Hingeless Flight Control of Air Vehicles; PII; Air Force; 4/15/2004-4/28/2008 Plasma Assisted Aerodynamic Control System (PAACS) for Munitions Maneuvering; PII; Air Force; 2/22/2005-2/22/2007 An Active Thrust Vectoring (ATV) Control System for Tactical Missile Steering; PII; Air Force; 4/8/2005-2/19/2008 An Adaptive Aerodynamic Control System (AACS) for a Low-Cost Destructive Expendable (DEX); PII; Air Force; 6/30/2005-4/8/2008 Low-Cost Miniature Control Actuation System for Gun-Fired Munitions; PII; Army; 11/19/2007-11/19/2009 Actuator Integrated Missile Steering System (AIMSS) for Supersonic Missiles; PII; Navy; 9/2008-10/15/2010 Steering Guided Munitions and Projectiles; P III; Army; 5/3/2007 5/2/2009 Orbital maintains a facility that was completed in September of 2003. It has a total area of 10,000 sq. ft. of combined laboratory and office space. Approximately 4,000 sq ft of laboratory space is fully equipped for mechanical and electrical prototype fabrication and testing. In addition, the facility has a robotics lab for demonstrating advanced control concepts on actual hardware. The various electrical, mechanical, and laboratory equipment at Orbital Research provide the research team with the necessary testing, machining, and fabrication tools needed to meet the program goals. Orbital Researchs staff of 22 includes five Ph.D. engineers and an additional nine Masters degrees.

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