Is the pitching moment acting on a Javelin always nose-down?

Abstract

The rules governing the dimensions of the Javelin were substantially changed in 1986. It was considered that this new design guaranteed there was zero pitching moment at 0° angle of attack and that the pitching moment decreased (became negative) with increasing angle of attack. The objective of this study is to investigate if the pitching moment remains always negative (nose-down rotation). To measure accurate aerodynamic forces acting on a Javelin, the world’s largest 1m magnetic suspension and balance system was used. The magnetic suspension and balance system was able to measure aerodynamic forces without support interference in the wind tunnel. In addition, computational fluid dynamics were carried out to estimate the pitching moment coefficients. It was found that the pitching moment coefficient of a commercially available Javelin becomes positive (nose-up rotation) at lower angles of attack, less than 12°. The pitching moment becomes positive if the upstream side of the center of gravity receives more inflow than the downstream side. This situation can be attained by, for example, increasing the thickness of the upstream side when compared with that of the downstream side.