Computational Fluid Dynamics Flow Field Solutions For A Kinetic Energy (KE) Projectile With Sabot
Computational Fluid Dynamics Flow Field Solutions For A Kinetic Energy (KE) Projectile With Sabot
Computational Fluid Dynamics Flow Field Solutions For A Kinetic Energy (KE) Projectile With Sabot
Disclaimers
The findings in this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless
so designated by other authorized documents.
Citation of manufacturer’s or trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the
use thereof.
Destroy this report when it is no longer needed. Do not return it to the originator.
Army Research Laboratory
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-5066
14. ABSTRACT
A study was undertaken to investigate and analyze the flow field results produced by various computational solvers for a
projectile of interest to the U.S. Army. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques were used to obtain numerical
solutions for the flow field of a kinetic energy projectile with the original and a modified (experimental) sabot. Computed
results were obtained at Mach 4.5 and a 0° angle of attack. Qualitative flow field features showed the pressure on the surface
of the model as well as pressures in the flow field. The surface pressure data on the projectile were extracted from the
solution files and compared. In all cases, the results were comparable. These results show the predictive capabilities of CFD
techniques in the analysis of supersonic flow over projectiles with sabots. They also provide an insight into the software
capabilities of several of the many tools available to research scientists in the field of CFD.
ii
Contents
List of Figures iv
List of Tables v
Acknowledgments vi
1. Introduction 1
2. Flow Solvers 1
2.1 ZNSFLOW Code...............................................................................................................1
2.2 CFD++ Code .....................................................................................................................2
2.3 FLUENT Code ..................................................................................................................3
4. Computational Meshes 5
4.1 ZNSFLOW Grids ..............................................................................................................5
4.2 CFD++ Grids.....................................................................................................................6
4.3 FLUENT Grids..................................................................................................................7
5. Results 8
5.1 Original Sabot....................................................................................................................8
5.2 Modified Sabot ................................................................................................................12
5.3 Force Comparison ...........................................................................................................16
5.4 Solver Differences ...........................................................................................................19
6. Conclusion 20
7. References 21
iii
List of Figures
iv
List of Tables
v
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Harris Edge, U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Weapons
and Analysis Branch, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, for his contributions to this work. As a
former member of the computational fluid dynamics team, he provided the initial computational
mesh for this study.
This work was supported by a grant of computer time from the Department of Defense High
Performance Computing Major Shared Resource Center at ARL.
vi
1. Introduction
The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in the areas of projectile design and
development is a continuously evolving field. Improved computer technology and
state-of-the-art numerical procedures enable scientists to develop solutions to complex,
three-dimensional (3-D) problems associated with projectile and missile systems of interest to
the U.S. Army. Many geometrically complex single-body and multibody systems have been
investigated using commercial as well as in-house CFD software packages (1–7). The focus of
this study is a kinetic energy (KE) projectile with an experimental sabot design. The
computational problem involves two-dimensional (2-D) and 3-D flow computations at a Mach
number of 4.5 and at a 0° angle of attack for both the original and the modified sabots. The sabot
petals separate from the projectile after the sabot leaves the gun barrel. So the results from this
study are only valid for an instant at muzzle exit. The original purpose of the study was to get a
quantitative estimate of the surface pressure values on the sabot at that instant. This report
describes the application of several CFD solvers to this problem.
2. Flow Solvers
∂ τ qˆ + ∂ ξ Fˆ + ∂ η Gˆ + ∂ ζ Hˆ = Re −1 ∂ ζ Sˆ , (1)
where
1
• ζ = ζ(x, y, z, t)—nearly normal coordinate, and
• τ = t—time.
Under CHSSI, the code was rewritten to provide scalable performance on a number of computer
architectures. Programming enhancements include the use of dynamic memory allocation and
highly optimized cache management. ZNSFLOW features a graphical user interface to facilitate
problem setup. The flow solver can be used for problems using structured zonal grids as well as
Chimera overset grids for complex geometrical configurations. For turbulent flows, the
algebraic eddy viscosity turbulence model developed by Baldwin and Lomax (9), a one-equation
Rt model and a two-equation k-ε model are available. For the original sabot, the k-ε model was
used, while the Baldwin-Lomax model was used for the modified sabot. (The reason for this will
be discussed later.) Second-order spatial discretization was used in both cases.
where W is the vector of conservative variables, F and G are the inviscid and viscous flux
vectors, respectively, H is the vector of source terms, V is the cell volume, and A is the surface
area of the cell face. Second-order spatial discretization was used.
2
• Riemann solvers to provide proper signal propagation physics, including versions for
preconditioned forms of the governing equations,
• consistent and accurate discretization of viscous terms using the same multidimensional
polynomial framework,
3
3. Projectile and Model Geometry
4
Two computational models were used, one for the original sabot design and one for the modified
(experimental) sabot design. For the most part, the two models are quite similar; the one
difference is that the experimental model has an insert in the front cup of the sabot. Figure 3
shows the overall model for the original design. An expanded view of the sabot cup for both
the original and modified sabots is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Expanded view of sabot cup: original (left) and modified (right).
4. Computational Meshes
5
Table 1. Dimensions for structured grids.
The computational meshes were created using the various tools found in the OVERGRID Grid
Generation software package (13). Figure 5 shows a single-plane 2-D mesh for the original
sabot. The boundary conditions consist of a collapsed axis at the nose of the projectile,
supersonic outflow at the rear of the mesh, no-slip wall conditions on the projectile surface, and
far field (pressure- and temperature-based inflow/outflow) at the outer edge.
Figure 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the 3-D mesh for the modified sabot configuration.
Note that due to the periodicity of the modified design, it was only necessary to model a
60° wedge for the computation. In addition to the boundary conditions for the 2-D case,
symmetry plane conditions for the circumferential boundaries and isothermal wall conditions for
the surfaces of the sabot insert were included in the parameters of the solution.
6
Figure 6. Computational mesh for 3-D model with modified sabot.
7
5. Results
Several computations were performed using the three flow solvers and the two different sabot
models described previously. Study parameters include Mach number of 4.5, 0° angle of attack,
and standard atmospheric flight conditions. For each solver, boundary conditions (as described
in the previous section) were selected to provide as reasonable a comparison as possible, given
the choices and constraints of each code. A modified two-equation k-ε turbulence model was
selected in each case. However, after over 100,000 iterations, the ZNSFLOW (3-D) modified
sabot case was not converged; the Baldwin-Lomax model was used instead for the final solution.
Initially, the free-stream was set to zero near the wall boundary for CFD++ and FLUENT; this
option is not available in ZNSFLOW. All computations were performed on the SGI suite
computers at the ARL Major Shared Resource Center (MSRC). Resources required for the 2-D
computations were minimal. For the 3-D calculations, resources used differed depending on the
solver used, but were also minimal.
Each of the CFD software packages used in this study has internal graphical capabilities for
viewing the flow field solution while the computation is in progress. Additionally, the files can
be reformatted and used with other available postprocessors. For all cases in this study, the grid
and solution files were reformatted and then imported into FIELDVIEW (15), a scientific
visualization software package.
8
Figure 7. Mach contours for 2-D ZNSFLOW.
9
Figure 9. Mach contours for 2-D FLUENT.
10
Figure 11. Pressure contours for 2-D CFD++.
11
Figure 13. Comparison of Cp along centerline for 2-D cases.
in pressure, 21% higher than the ZNSFLOW solution at ~0.11 m, while the FLUENT solution
gives the lowest peak pressure, 18% lower than the ZNSFLOW solution. All three solutions
show a qualitatively similar reduction in pressure as the flow expands past the first conical-
cylindrical section of the sabot at ~0.14 m. The largest expansion was in the FLUENT solution,
which gave a minimum pressure 31% lower than the (first) maximum. The reduction in pressure
was 24% and 15% in the ZNSFLOW and CFD++ solutions, respectively. This expansion is
more evident in the flow field plots for the FLUENT case (Figures 9 and 12) due to the plotting
scales, but it is present in all cases. The pressure in the sabot cup is qualitatively similar in all
three cases. The CFD++ and ZNSFLOW solutions show a large reduction in pressure and a
monotonically increasing pressure between the cup and the obturator, while the FLUENT
solution shows a low, constant pressure.
12
Figure 14. Mach contours for 3-D ZNSFLOW.
13
Figure 16. Mach contours for 3-D FLUENT.
14
Figure 18. Pressure contours for CFD++.
15
pressure on the edge of the front cup is more prominent in Figure 20 (FLUENT) than in Figures
21 and 22. All three figures, however, show the same overall qualities of higher pressure in front
of the cup and lower pressure along the rest of the sabot.
As seen previously in the original sabot, the Cp values along the centerline of the projectile
(Figure 23) are quite similar for the CFD++ and FLUENT solutions. For the ZNSFLOW results,
there is quite a difference in the values in front of the sabot cup; the pressure is slightly higher at
the obturator as well. This is most likely due to the fact that a converged solution could not be
achieved for this case with the two-equation turbulence model. Similar trends appear along the
60° plane. As seen in Figure 24, all three solutions are similar, except in the area in front of the
insert. Figure 25 shows a comparison of the Cp values for the original and modified sabots,
using the CFD++ solver. The pressure on the modified sabot is slightly higher in the area in
front of the sabot cup (near 0.14 m) and ~20% higher in the cup itself, in the area between
0.14 m and 0.17 m. Otherwise, the two sabot models show nearly identical values.
16
Figure 21. Surface pressure for 3-D ZNSFLOW.
17
Figure 23. Comparison of Cp along the projectile centerline for 3-D cases.
18
Figure 25. Comparison of centerline Cp for original and modified sabot, CFD++
solutions.
19
FLUENT took ~24,000 iterations, primarily because a first-order spatial discretization was run
first, followed by the second-order case. The case was hard to start from the second-order
solution directly. Also, the CFL number was only increased to one. The residuals dropped from
two orders of magnitude (the cross flow velocities) to four orders of magnitude (the turbulent KE
and diffusivity).
Advantages of the CFD++ solver are its automatic CFL number ramping and a capability for
adding dissipation parameters in the governing equations. In FLUENT, one must ramp the CFL
number manually and there are no added dissipation parameters in the governing equations. This
difficult test case is the first in which FLUENT has been difficult to run at higher CFL numbers.
In previous cases (1, 2), simulations were started with the second-order spatial discretization
solver, at CFL numbers of 1 or 2, and with a maximum CFL number between 5 and 10.
6. Conclusion
A computational study was undertaken to investigate the application of several CFD solvers to a
computational model of a projectile system with two different sabots. Flow field computations
were performed at Mach number 4.5 for 0° angle of attack, under standard atmospheric
conditions. The computational results show the predictive capabilities of various CFD
techniques in the analysis of supersonic flow for both a 2-D axisymmetric model and a 3-D
model. They also provide a look at some of the software tools available to research scientists in
the field of CFD. All three solvers provided qualitatively similar results. CFD++ provided the
solution in the most efficient manner.
20
7. References
1. Sahu, J.; DeSpirito, J.; Edge, H.; Silton, S.; Heavey, K. Recent Applications of Structured
and Unstructured Grid Techniques to Complex Projectile and Missile Configurations.
Proceedings of the 8th International Grid Generation and Computational Field Simulations,
Honolulu, HI, June 2002.
2. DeSpirito, J.; Vaughn, Jr., M. E.; Washington, W. D. Numerical Investigation of Canard-
Controlled Missile Using Planar and Grid Tail Fins, Part I: Supersonic Flow;
ARL-TR-2848; U.S. Army Research Laboratory: Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, 2002.
3. Sahu, J.; Heavey, K. R.; Edge, H. L. Numerical Computations of Supersonic Flow Over
Elliptical Projectiles; ARL-TR-2589; U.S. Army Research Laboratory: Aberdeen Proving
Ground, MD, 2001.
4. Sahu, J.; Heavey, K. R. Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of a 40-mm Grenade With
and Without Jet Flow; ARL-TR-2572; U.S. Army Research Laboratory: Aberdeen Proving
Ground, MD, 2001.
5. Graham, M. J.; Weinacht, P.; Brandeis, J.; Angelini, R. A Numerical Investigation of
Supersonic Jet Interaction for Finned Bodies; ARL-TR-2312; U.S. Army Research
Laboratory: Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, 2000.
6. Sahu, J.; Heavey, K. R.; Pressel, D.; Dinavahi, S. Parallel Numerical Computations of
Projectile Flow Fields; ARL-TR-2019; U.S. Army Research Laboratory: Aberdeen Proving
Ground, MD, 1999.
7. Sahu, J.; Edge, H. L.; Heavey, K. R.; Ferry, E. N. Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling
of Multi-body Missile Aerodynamic Interference; ARL-TR-1765; U.S. Army Research
Laboratory: Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, 1998.
8. Edge, H. L.; Sahu, J.; Sturek, W. B.; Pressel, D. M.; Heavey, K. R.; Weinacht, P.;
Zoltani, C. K.; Nietubicz, C. J.; Clarke, J.; Behr, M.; Collins, P. Common High Performance
Computing Software Support Initiative (CHSSI) Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD-6
Project Final Report: ARL Block-Structured Gridding Zonal Navier-Stokes Flow
(ZNSFLOW) Solver Software; ARL-TR-2084; U.S. Army Research Laboratory: Aberdeen
Proving Ground, MD, 2000.
9. Baldwin, B. L.; Lomax, H. Thin Layer Approximation and Algebraic Model for Separated
Turbulent Flows; AIAA 78-257; American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Reston, VA, 1978.
21
10. Goldberg, U. C.; Peroomian, O.; Chakravarthy, S. A Wall-Distance Free K-E Model With
Enhanced Near-Wall Treatment. American Society of Mechanical Engineers Journal of
Fluids Engineering 1998, 120, 457–462.
11. CFD++ User Manual, version 2.6.5; Metacomp Technologies, Argoura Hills, CA.
12. FLUENT 5.0 User’s Guide, volume 2; Fluent, Inc., Lebanon, NH, 1998.
13. Chan, W. M. OVERGRID Software Documentation. U.S. Army Research Laboratory-
Major Shared Resource Center: Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, April 1999.
14. GRIDGEN, version 14.3 user’s manual; Pointwise Inc., Fort Worth, TX, 2002.
15. FIELDVIEW, version 8 user’s manual; Intelligent Light, Lindhurst, NJ, 2001.
22
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