Object Trajectory Under Fluid-Induced Loads

Predicting the trajectory of bodies under the combined influence of aerodynamic, propulsive, and gravitational forces can be a difficult task.  The level of difficulty increases where viscous effects are important, for complex body shapes, and for multiple body interaction problems.  Design problems that fall into this category include ensuring that separating components do not interfere with each other, computing motion accelerations, predicting where dropped components land, or predicting stresses in a dropped object.  

AFT has used its RANS capabilities on trajectory problems ranging from objects dropped inside a nuclear reactor to flexible objects dropped in the deep ocean.  It has also used RANS simulations to provide maneuvering derivatives to populate transfer functions inside digital motion simulators.  Click on a menu item at left to view examples of how AFT handles trajectory prediction problems.