Effects of Actuator and Sensor Abnormal Conditions on Missile Performance

This paper presents the investigation through simulation of the effects of abnormal conditions on the performance of a missile. A comprehensive simulation environment developed in MATLAB® and Simulink® is used for this purpose. The actuator failures considered comprise fin lockage, actuator damage, launch mechanism delay, engine stoppage, and delayed engine startup. The sensor failures investigated include target seeker malfunction and angular rate sensor biases. The effects of these abnormal conditions are analyzed based on mission performance criteria including success rate of hitting the target, time to hit, and control activity. The fin lockage and pitch rate sensor bias were the most destructive failures in terms of mission success and control effort. The effects on the time to hit were generally found to be minimal.