Numerical Study of Wing Aerodynamics in Ground Proximity Available to Purchase

Experimental design and optimization of innovative ground-effect transportation means is an iterative process which requires a large amount of time and resources. To avoid the large experimental expense, numerical modeling can be used to investigate Wing-in-Ground (WIG) vehicle flight. In this paper, modeling technique is applied for a two dimensional NACA 4412 airfoil in viscous flow in and out of ground effect. The numerical method consists of a steady state, incompressible, finite volume method utilizing the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model. Grid generation and solution of the Navier-Stokes equations are completed using FLUENT 6.3. The modeling procedures are first validated against published experimental data for unbounded flow around an airfoil. Wing section aerodynamic characteristics are then studied for varying ground heights and two separate boundary conditions: fixed ground and moving ground. Ground effect calculations are compared to several previous studies, and our results are found to correlate with published aerodynamic trends in ground effect, although all studies appear to predict different magnitudes of aerodynamic forces.