Mojtaba Tahani, Mehran Masdari and Ali Bargestan
This paper aims to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics as well as static stability of wing-in-ground effect aircraft. The effect of geometrical characteristics, namely…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics as well as static stability of wing-in-ground effect aircraft. The effect of geometrical characteristics, namely, twist angle, dihedral angle, sweep angle and taper ratio are examined.
Design/methodology/approach
A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic code is developed to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of the effect. The turbulent model is utilized for characterization of flow over wing surface.
Findings
The numerical results show that the maximum change of the drag coefficient depends on the angle of attack, twist angle and ground clearance, in a decreasing order. Also, it is found that the lift coefficient increases as the ground clearance, twist angle and dihedral angle decrease. On the other hand, the sweep angle does not have a significant effect on the lift coefficient for the considered wing section and Reynolds number. Also, as the aerodynamic characteristics increase, the taper ratio befits in trailing state.
Practical implications
To design an aircraft, the effect of each design parameter needs to be estimated. For this purpose, the sensitivity analysis is used. In this paper, the influence of all parameter against each other including ground clearance, angle of attack, twist angle, dihedral angle and sweep angle for the NACA 6409 are investigated.
Originality/value
As a summary, the contribution of this paper is to predict the aerodynamic performance for the cruise condition. In this study, the sensitivity of the design parameter on aerodynamic performance can be estimated and the effect of geometrical characteristics has been investigated in detail. Also, the best lift to drag coefficient for the NACA 6409 wing section specifies and two types of taper ratios in ground effect are compared.
Details
Keywords
Mojtaba Tahani, Mehran Masdari and Ali Bargestan
The overall performance of an aerial vehicle strongly depends on the specifics of the propulsion system and its position relative to the other components. The purpose of paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
The overall performance of an aerial vehicle strongly depends on the specifics of the propulsion system and its position relative to the other components. The purpose of paper is this factor can be characterized by changing several contributing parameters, such as distance from the ground, fuselage and wing as well as the nacelle outlet velocity and analyzing the aerodynamic performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Navier–Stokes equations are discretized in space using finite volume method. A KW-SST model is implemented to model the turbulence. The flow is assumed steady, single-phase, viscous, Newtonian and compressible. Accordingly, after validation and verification against experimental and numerical results of DLRF6 configuration, the location of the propulsion system relative to configuration body is examined.
Findings
At the nacelle outlet velocity of V/Vinf = 4, the optimal location identified in this study delivers 16% larger lift to drag ratio compared to the baseline configuration.
Practical implications
Altering the position of the propulsion system along the longitudinal direction does not have a noticeable effect on the vehicle performance.
Originality/value
Aerial vehicles including wing-in-ground effect vehicles require thrust to fly. Generating this necessary thrust for motion and acceleration is thoroughly affected by the vehicle aerodynamics. There is a lack of rigorous understanding of such topics owing to the immaturity of science in this area. Complexity and diversity of performance variables for a numerical solution and finding a logical connection between these parameters are among the related challenges.