A practical method for aerodynamic investigation of WIG

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a fast, economical and practical method for mathematical modeling of aerodynamic characteristics of rectangular wing in ground (WIG) effect.

Design/methodology/approach

Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations were converted to Bernoulli equation by reasonable assumptions. Also, Helmbold’s equation has been developed for calculation of the slope of wing lift coefficient in ground effect by defining equivalent aspect ratio (ARe). Comparison of present work results against the experimental results has shown good agreement.

Findings

A practical mathematical modeling with lower computational time and higher accuracy was presented for calculating aerodynamic characteristics of rectangular WIG effect. The relative error between the present work results and the experimental results was less than 8 per cent. Also, the accuracy of the proposed method was checked by comparing with the numerical methods. The comparison showed fairly good accuracy.

Research limitations/implications

Aerodynamic surfaces in ground effect were used for reducing wetted surface and increasing speed in high-speed marine and novel aeronautical vehicles.

Practical implications

The proposed method is useful for investigation of aerodynamic performance of WIG vehicles and racing boats with aerodynamic surfaces in ground effect.

Originality/value

The proposed method has reduced the computational time significantly as compared to numerical simulation that allows conceptual design of the WIG crafts and is also economical.

Citation

Seif, M.S. and Dakhrabadi, M.T. (2016), "A practical method for aerodynamic investigation of WIG", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 88 No. 1, pp. 73-81. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-05-2014-0060