System modeling of a small flight vehicle using magnetic suspension and balance system

To construct the system matrix of a small flight vehicle model for pure plunging motion, the aerodynamic forces acting on the small flight vehicle model were measured using a Magnetic Suspension and Balance System (MSBS) for various angles of attack and elevator deflection angles. The MSBS, a kind of non-contact type balance installed onto the KAIST low speed wind tunnel, replaced the conventional mechanical balance system, so that the support interference effects in wind tunnel tests were eliminated. Furthermore, it enables us to easily control and change the position and the attitude of an object. The stability coefficients and the stability derivatives of a small flight vehicle model were obtained from the results of wind tunnel tests and the equation of motion of the small flight vehicle model was constructed in the state-space form, which is called the system matrix of the small flight vehicle model.