Digital simulation of a 6-DOF multi-body dispense with body-on-body collision detection

A digital simulation of a dispense vehicle and multiple submunitions in six-degree-of-freedom flight was written using a combination of ACSL and Fortran. The program is used to evaluate given flight configurations by trajectory studies, Monte Carlo analysis, and error sensitivity studies. Models for flow-field separation and free-stream aerodynamics were developed from extensive wind-tunnel test data and included in the simulation. Program requirements included the ability to check for body-on-body collisions during simulated flight to augment evaluation of aerodynamic effects upon given flight configurations. Algorithms utilizing body geometries and pointing vectors were used to develop a series of collision tests of increasing resolution