Novel Articulating Mechanism Design for a Movable-Nose Missile Concept

View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-0445.vid This work investigated various ways an articulating mechanism can be implemented in a movable-nose missile and how this next generation air to air missile could be used as a glide-phase interceptor for hypersonic threats. The design goals focused on improving efficiency and simplifying from previous design concepts. This paper outlines the design engineering used in a year long capstone design project. During the fall semester, the team implemented idea generation (ideation) and innovative thinking strategies to develop novel solutions to the problem. Those design concepts were then reduced to a final design and a prototype was developed prior to the Preliminary Design Review. During the spring semester, improvements were made to this prototype and lessons learned from the first generation were incorporated into a second-generation design. The new design was used to fabricate a test article that was evaluated to draw conclusions about the behavior of the mechanism. System power output, efficiency, and articulation rate were either recorded or calculated. The chosen design consists of a central spine and pivot which supports two angled rotors. In this system, only one rotor is driven directly by the motor and a series of idler wheels or gears attached to the central pivot cause the upper rotor to rotate in the opposite direction. When the starting points on each rotor reach opposite sides of the mechanism from each other, the actuator reaches its maximum articulation, which is equivalent to twice the angle of the cut plane of each rotor.