Unsteady Aerodynamic Characteristics of Antenna Rotating in Different Elevation Angles

The aerodynamic characteristics of radar antennas should be considered in computing their wind resistance and designing pedestal servo systems. In this paper, the aerodynamic characteristics of a flat plate antenna with azimuthal rotation are explored using a wind tunnel, and the effects of the antenna elevation angle and reduced frequency on the aerodynamic coefficients are analyzed. The corresponding results of numerical simulation are given to compare with the experimental results. The variation of aerodynamic coefficients with respect to the azimuth angle is found to depend on the reduced frequency and the antenna elevation angle. When the increase in antenna elevation angle is slight, the mean and root mean square values of the aerodynamic coefficients are not monotonic with respect to increases in elevation angle and may increase at individual elevation angles. When the elevation angle increases significantly, the mean, maximum, and root mean square values of the aerodynamic coefficients all significantly decrease. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results, which verify the feasibility of using unsteady numerical simulations to obtain the flow field structure when the antenna is rotating. This approach allows the influence mechanism of the elevation angle change on the aerodynamic characteristics of the rotating antenna to be identified.