Presented at the international wing in ground effect conference, the royal institution of naval architects, london. Computational aerodynamics and flight stability of wingin. This alters the wing s upwash, downwash, and wingtip vortices fig. Dec 20, 2014 article discussing the potential commercial and safety benefits of using wing in ground wig effect vehicles, also known as ground effect vehicles gev or ekranoplans, for hybrid airandsea transportation. Data for the tests in the lockheed tunnel were obtained from reference 2. Some novice commentators claim that this wasnt aerodynamically possible. The aerodynamic characteristics of the winginground effect wig craft model that has a noble configuration of a. The effect of ground proximity and flap setting was quantified in terms of aerodynamic. If youve flown a low wing and high wing airplane, you know that low wing planes experience a lot more ground effect during landing. Its annoying because it changes the hc per alpha in the polar, when using ground effect. Real wings are affected by the presence of walls nearby. Wing in ground effect craft are becoming promising transportation over the last decade.
In the wind tunnel, aerodynamic force measurements were carried out for a range of ground clearances hc and different angles of attacks. Ground effect is the name given to the positive influence on the lifting characteristics of the horizontal surfaces of an aircraft wing when it is close to the ground. You can see that ground effect doesnt come into play until youre within 1 wingspan of the ground. Wing in ground effect is quite a new concept of designing fast ships, which has. The difference between par and groundeffect flight can be clearly seen. Wings in cruise are generally assumed to be operating without any external obstructions. In full ground effect flight, the disturbance behind the boat has virtually disappeared figures 811. Wig craft is a multimodal craft which, in its main operational mode, flies by using ground effect above the water or some other surface, without constant contact with such a surface and supported in the air, mainly, by an aerodynamic lift generated on a wing wings, hull, or their parts, which are intended to utilize the ground effect action. The wings upper surface is shaped so the air rushing over the top speeds up and stretches out. The test results were expected to help in understanding the aerodynamic aspect of wing in ground effect and be useful for further design of a wig. The focus of this project was to design, build and test a small amphibious wing in ground effect wige vehicle capable of stable flight within ground effect. Ground clearance hc was defined as the distance ratio between the wing trailing edge centre and ground surface h to root chord length c of the wing.
Effect of spoiler position on aerodynamic characteristics of. I dont know where it pivots the foil to change alpha. A winginground wig craft is defined as a vessel capable of operating completely above the surface of the water on a dynamic air cushion created by aerodynamic lift due to the ground effect between the vessel and the waters surface. As a means of transportation wige vehicles are well positioned in the niche between ships and conventional aircraft. Ground effect, then, is due to the interference of the ground or water surface with the airflow patterns about the airplane in flight.
In many general aviation airplanes this effect produces greater lift and less drag for a given angle of attack. Keywordswing in ground effect, external flow choking, boundary layer, aerodynamic choking. Wing in ground effect aircraft is one that manages level flight near the surface of the earth, making use of the aerodynamic interaction between the wings and the surface known as take advantage ground effect. This has led to the design and construction of craft specifically intended to operate close to the ground and fly in ground effect. Optimum is a compromise between wing weight and induced drag ground handling. The aerodynamic characteristics of the winginground effect wig craft model. Wing in groundeffect wig aircraft, sometimes called a wingship, are flying boats intended to cruise just above wave crests so as to avoid all but very occasional water contact during flight.
Starting with definitions of the phenomenon and the craft which takes advantage of the ground effect ge, the history and perspectives of the technology, specific vehicles and projects, and areas of application are covered. Pdf ku wingingroundeffect aircraft competition guide. Perform another flow field analysis with ground effect. Part of theaerospace engineering commons, and themechanical engineering commons. Application to high speed ground transportation by. Dec 15, 2010 this chapter provides a brief summary concerning the history of ground effect vehicles. The ground effect parts of an open wheeled cars aerodynamics are the most aerodynamically ef. The focus of this project was to design, build and test a small amphibious wing in ground ef fect wige vehicle capable of stable flight within ground effect. Study of aerofoils at high angle of attack, in ground effect.
Such a train would rely exclusively on lifting surfaces, rather than on steel wheels, lifting fans, or magnetic fieldsas a first. Ground effect is a phenomenon that relates to the airflow around a wing when it flies in close proximity to a surface, wherein the presence. When an aircraft flies at a ground level approximately at or below the half length of the aircrafts wingspan there occurs, depending on airfoil and aircraft design, an often noticeable ground effect. This effect is a consequence of the distortion of the airflow below such surfaces attributable to the proximity of the ground. Aerodynamic characteristics of wing of wig catamaran vehicle. An investigation of a cambered, doubleelement, highlift wing operating in ground effect was performed. Design of a wing section in ground effect iowa state university. Characterization of the aerodynamic ground effect and its. The wing ship technology corporation, a south korean company, is trying to revive the wing in ground effect idea. As a wing moves through air, the air is split and passes above and below the wing.
Dec, 2015 introduction to wing in ground effect vehicles prakash prashanth. This study is a pointer to the pilots for the safe flying in close proximity of the ground. Ground effect aerodynamics of race cars is concerned with generating downforce, principally via low pressure on the surfaces nearest to the ground. Wig craft and ekranoplan ground effect craft technology. Ground effect can be divided up into two distinct regimes, ram and normal ground effect 1. Pdf project reportdesign optimization and fabrication. It does not use the modify pivot, like i perhaps insinuated above. A wing in ground wig craft is defined as a vessel capable of operating completely above the surface of the water on a dynamic air cushion created by aerodynamic lift due to the ground effect between the vessel and the waters surface. As mentioned before, the ground effect for singlerotor helicopters has been extensively studied in the literature 1116. The longterm motivation is to determine the feasibility of a train that achieves aerodynamic levitation above a flat guideway. Flightmeasured ground effect on a lowaspectratio ogee. Order nuiaber 950s563 design of wing section in ground effect. Introduction to wing in ground effect vehicles youtube. A number of passenger car companies are beginning to incorporate active aerodynamic devices in their designs.
Aug 25, 20 wing in ground effect designs october 6, 2012 after reading a lot of other peoples research on edf power systems, i can see an advantage to using them on a wig craft. Pdf wing in ground effect craft are becoming promising. Various methods employed to study the phenomenon are introduced. Thus flying in ground effect ige potentially offers a very economical form of rapid transport. So far not many wing section families have been designed especially for operation in ground effect. Design optimization and fabrication of a wing in ground effect craft sponsored by cerd, govt. Wig craft gives an alternate solution to gain higher speed 1. Technology, rmit has been tasked with the provision of this report. This is a simplifying assumption particularly during take. It is the phenomena when an airfoil is operating close to a boundary such as the ground or water. The difference between par and ground effect flight can be clearly seen.
How close to the ground do you need to be for ground effect. The flightmeasured ground effect characteristics of the test aircraft are described in this report and the various windtunnel data are compared with the flight data. Many researchers have had some successful attempts to develop wig crafts that fly near sea surface. Ground effect craft technology will be of interest to naval engineers, aviation engineers, naval architects, and mechanical engineers interested in the development and research of wing in ground wig and high performance marine. It shows that the ground has indeed a profound effect on the aerodynamic performance. Ground effect vehicle airfoil simulation in openfoam. Par flight leaves a wake on the surface of the water where it has been blown by the fans. In this research the effect of ground proximity on the lift, drag and. Applications of ground effect to aircraft and vehicle design are also discussed. Wig craft are capable of operating at speeds in excess of 100 knots. Experimental investigation of a winginground effect craft hindawi.
As a part of this investigation, the sir lawrence wackett centre for aerospace design. Ram ground effect occurs where the wing is at an altitude of hc0. Experimental investigation of the ground effect of wig craft. When the rotor is under the ground effect, there is an increment in the thrust generated by the rotor for the same power, which is greater the. Wig catamaran, wing in ground effect, aerodynamic characters, naca 6409, cfd analysis. Presented at the international winginground effect conference, the royal institution of naval architects, london. The picture clearly shows the low pressure field high velocity between the lower surface and the ground. Pdf project reportdesign optimization and fabrication of a. Preliminary development of a wing in ground effect.
This alters the wings upwash, downwash, and wingtip vortices fig. Eigenvalue analysis is performed to investigate the. Aerodynamics of a doubleelement wing in ground effect. Aerodynamic characteristics of wing of wig catamaran. In full groundeffect flight, the disturbance behind the boat has virtually disappeared figures 811. Winginground effect aircraft is one that manages level flight near the surface of the earth, making use of the aerodynamic interaction between the wings and the surface known as take advantage ground effect.
Detailed report on the graduation project related to the design and fabrication of the wig craft. These general effects due to the presence of the ground are referred to as ground effect. Dynamic ground effect for a cranked arrow wing airplane. A groundeffect vehicle gev, also called a wingingroundeffect wig, groundeffect craft, wingship or ekranoplan russian. Design of a hoverwing aircraft presented to mechanical and. Formula sae engineering competition for university students to design, build and race an openwheel race car and production vehicles. The watersports and leisure groundeffect craft that provides a unique experience gliding over the water using the wingingroundeffect on the speed up to 110 kmh. Again, you can analyze the flow at different angles of attack. Ground effect one of the most misunderstood aerodynamic. Wing in ground effect is quite a new concept of designing. Earlier results illustrate the largescale unsteady and timeaveraged ow features of a highlift singleelement wing. This dissertation attempts to fully explain the aerodynamic ground effect phenomenon, which occurs when a wing flies over a nearby plane. Formula 1 racing wing cars and ground effects duration. Application to highspeed ground transportation hiemcke, christoph, ph.
A large, single wing could also be mounted high and centrally, in the style common to sprint cars and the amodified racing class. Experimental investigation of a winginground effect craft. A wing in ground effect wige crafts can be deployed to fly by utilizing the ground effect, which is a natural phenomenon known to improve the efficiency of airplanes during takeoff and landing. South koreas armed forces have already agreed to buy some and the firm says it hopes to announce its first commercial sales to an oilandgas firm and a mediterranean ferry company shortly. Ground effect aerodynamics cui major reference works.