Aerodynamics of powered missile separation from F/A-18 aircraft

A 3D dynamic 'chimera' algorithm that solves the thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations over multiple moving bodies was modified to numerically simulate the aerodynamics, missile dynamics, and missile plume interactions of a missile separating from a generic wing and from an F/A-18 aircraft in transonic flow. The missile is mounted below the wing for missile separation from the wing and on the F/A-18 fuselage at the engine inlet side for missile separation from aircraft. Static and powered missile separation cases are considered to examine the influence of the missile and plume on the wing and F/A-18 fuselage and engine inlet. The aircraft and missile are at two degrees angle of attack, Reynolds number of 10 million, freestream Mach number of 1.05 and plume Mach number of 3.0. The computational results show the details of the flow field.