The paper presents a computational study of an idealized grid fin configuration both in 2D and 3D. In 2D the grid fin is represented by a series of five plates and in 3D an isolated fin represented by a 4X3 grid is considered. Mach numbers ranging from 1.1 to 3 are analyzed. The physics associated with the grid fin flow is understood by classifying the flow into five regimes, namely, single plate regime, periodic plate regime, separated flow regime, cusped shock regime and single body regime. The lift curve exhibits high non-linearity for lower free stream Mach numbers close to sonic conditions and for higher Mach numbers exhibits a bucket associated with the stalling and subsequent unstalling of fins in the separated flow regime. The 3D computations also reveal the presence of this behavior. The lift characteristics of the 3D grid fin is compared with the conventional planar fin for a Mach number of 2 and it is found that the grid fin exhibits consistently a higher lift in the operational range of incidences.
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