VFT TERM PAPER

A Study on Wing in Ground-Effect

Aircraft(WIG)

GROUP NO: 05

IIT Kharagpur Viscous Flow Theory

 INTRODUCTION

This abstract explores using a reverse delta wing configuration to enhance the aero-dynamic stability of
ground-effect aircraft. Ground effect refers to the phenomenon where an aircraft flying near the Earth’s
surface experiences increased lift and reduced drag, resulting in improved fuel efficiency and
maneuverability. However, ground effect can also pose challenges to stability, especially during low-
altitude operations. This study investigates the reverse delta wing as a promising solution to mitigate
the stability issues associated with ground-effect flight. The reverse delta wing, characterized by its
unique geometry with the leading edge behind the trailing edge, offers distinct aerodynamic
advantages. Through various simulations using Ansys and computation using the vortex panel method,
we analyze the airflow patterns around the reverse delta wing in ground effect conditions. The results
demonstrate that this configuration induces beneficial vortices and airflow patterns that enhance lift
and stability. Further- more, the study investigates the impact of reverse delta wing design parameters,
such as sweep angle, aspect ratio, and wing loading, on the aircraft’s stability in ground effect.
 INTRODUCTION

The findings provide insights into optimizing the reverse delta wing for specific ground effect flight
regimes, considering factors such as altitude, airspeed, and payload. The application of the reverse
delta wing to ground effect aircraft holds promising implications for various fields, including unmanned
aerial vehicles, cargo transport, and amphibious aircraft. The enhanced stability achieved through this
innovative wing configuration not only improves the safety and controllability of ground-effect flight
but also opens new possibilities for efficient and sustainable low-altitude operations.
This research contributes to advancing the understanding of aerodynamics in ground effect and
provides a foundation for the development of next-generation aircraft configurations tailored to exploit
the benefits of ground effect while maintaining optimal stability.
 BACKGROUND
A Brief History of Ground effect aircraft
The history of ground effect aircraft traces back to the early 20th century when Soviet engineer Rostislav
Alexeyev pioneered the idea of utilizing ground effect for improved lift. The 1960s saw a significant
milestone with the Soviet ”Ekranoplan,” exemplified by the Caspian Sea Monster, demonstrating the
potential of skimming above water surfaces. The following decades witnessed the development of the
Lun-class ekranoplans for military and civilian applications. In the post-Soviet era, global interest grew,
with Russia continuing military applications and other nations exploring civilian uses. Modern exploration
involves the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance and environmental monitoring.
Despite advantages, challenges like regulatory hurdles and infrastructure requirements persist, driving
ongoing research to unlock the full potential of ground-
effect aircraft for diverse applications.
 BACKGROUND
A Brief History of Reverse Delta Wing
The reverse delta wing, a distinctive wing configuration with its leading edge positioned 3 behind the
trailing edge, has evolved as an innovative solution to enhance the stability of ground-effect aircraft.
Originating from the broader history of delta wing designs, which gained prominence in the mid-20th
century, the reverse delta wing represents a departure from traditional geometries. Its application
in ground-effect aircraft gained attention due to its unique aerodynamic characteristics. Early
experimentation with delta wings laid the foundation for understanding their benefits in stability and lift
generation. The reverse delta wing, however, introduced a novel approach, specifically tailored to
address challenges associated with ground-effect flight. By altering the flow patterns and vortices
around the wing, this configuration mitigates stability issues commonly encountered during low-altitude
operations. The reverse delta wing’s ability to induce beneficial vortices and manipulate air-
flow contributes to improved lift and stability in ground effect conditions. Computational fluid dynamics
simulations and wind tunnel tests have been instrumental in refining the design parameters, such as
sweep angle and aspect ratio, to optimize the wing for specific ground effect regimes.
 STABILITY CRITERIA
Longitudinal Static Stability

The longitudinal static stability of WIG aircraft is highly sensitive to variations in both pitch and height,
distinguishing it from conventional aircraft. Unlike traditional aircraft, where changes in height typically
result in minimal force and moment variations, such variations are often ignored, focusing solely on pitch
stability. However, in the presence of ground effect, the forces and moments acting on the WIG aircraft
change with both pitch and height. Therefore, considerations for both pitch and height stability become
imperative. A WIG aircraft features two aerodynamic centers. The center of pitch (xθ) follows the
conventional aerodynamic definition, where the moment acting on the body is independent of the angle
of attack. Similarly, the center of height (xh) is defined as the point where the moment is in-
dependent of flying height. These two aerodynamic centers can be obtained by analyzing the Lift and
Moment curves with respect to the angle of attack and with respect to height.
 STABILITY CRITERIA
Pitch Stability Criterion

For pitch stability, the necessary conditions are effectively depicted in the figure1. In the trim condition,
the aircraft is in equilibrium, maintaining a specific angle of attack where there are no inherent
tendencies for the aircraft to pitch about its Center of Gravity (C.G.). When the angle of attack is less than
αtrim, the aircraft generates a positive (nose-up) moment, working to return it to the equilibrium position.
Conversely, if the aircraft encounters a disturbance, such as a sudden upward gust causing an increase in
the angle of attack beyond αtrim, a negative (nose-down) moment emerges, aiming to restore it to the
equilibrium state. Based on this straightforward analysis, static pitch stability requires the aircraft’s
pitching moment curve to exhibit a negative slope and intersect the positive Y-axis.
STABILITY CRITERIA
Pitch Stability Criterion
The location of the C.G. is
crucial for establishing
acceptable longitudinal
stability as it affects the
dynamics of the aircraft.
Sensitivities of the pitch angle
and flight altitude to changes
in velocity are important for
determining an ideal C.G.
position. So for stabilizing the
aircraft, the C.G. should be in
between the center of pitch
(xθ) and center of height (xh)
 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
VORTEX PANEL METHOD

The 2D vortex panel method is a numerical technique used in aerodynamics and fluid mechanics to
analyze and simulate the flow around two-dimensional airfoils or bodies. It is a mathematical approach
that represents the geometry of the object by dividing it into a series of straight-line segments called
panels. The method assumes that vortices are distributed along these panels to model the lift and
circulation distribution. Flow tangency condition results in a system of linear equations. Solving this
system provides the vortex strengths and, consequently, the circulation around each panel. We divide
the airfoil into chords called panels. In this case, we are modeling the vortex strength per unit length for
each panel to be constant. Let the vortex strength γ(s) per unit length be constant over a given panel, but
allow it to vary from one panel to the next. These panel strengths are unknowns; the main thrust of the
panel technique is to solve for γj, j = 1 to n, such that the body surface becomes a streamline of the flow.
The midpoint of each panel is a control point at which the boundary condition is applied; that is, at each
control point, the normal component of the flow velocity is zero.
 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
VORTEX PANEL METHOD

In this equation, γj is constant over the j-th panel, and the integral is taken over the j-th panel only. The angle
θpj is given by

In turn, the potential at P due to all the panels is summed over all the panels:

Since point P is just an arbitrary point in the flow, let us put P at the control point of the ith panel. The
coordinates of this control point are (xi, yi). So the equations become
 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
VORTEX PANEL METHOD
The equation is physically the contribution of all the panels to the potential at the control point of the ith
panel. At the control points, the normal component of the velocity is zero; this velocity is the superposition of
the uniform flow velocity and the velocity induced by all the vortex panels. The component of V∞ normal to
the i-th panel is given by Equation.

The normal component of velocity induced at (xi, yi) by the vortex panels is

Combining equations we get,

where the summation is over all the panels. The normal component of the flow velocity at the ith control
point is the sum of that due to the freestream and that due to the vortex panels. The boundary condition
states that this sum must be zero:

So finally we obtain,
 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
VORTEX PANEL METHOD

Let Ji,j be the value of this integral when the control point is on the i-th panel. Then Equation can be written as:

This equation is a linear algebraic equation with n unknowns, γ1, γ2, . . . , γn. It represents the flow boundary
condition evaluated at the control point of the i-th panel. If Equation is applied to the control points of all the
panels, we obtain a system of n linear equations with n unknowns.
 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
To compute the 2-D vortex panel methods for an airfoil in the vicinity of ground , we can simulate simultaneously

2 Airfoils which are the mirror images of each other . the line about which they are mirror is eventually the ground .

In this case the contribution of potencial on the ith panel will also come from the panel vortices from its mirrored arifoil as
well

The vortex panel computation is done on the airfoil NACA4412 . The data points for this airfoil have been drawn from the
Airfoils tools . To get an angle of attack, which was taken 5 deg in this case , was done by transforming the coordinates of the
airfoil.

the chord length was taken to be of unit length and the distance from the ground from the trailing edge was equal to the
chord length (h/c=1).

the lift coefficient for the NACA 4412 comes out to be 0.8627.

while for the mirrored airfoils which is equivalent to the ground effect, the lift coefficient comes out to be 1.4745

we can see the higher value of Cl in case of proximity to the ground

 SIMULATIONS

The pressure contours clearly indicate a cushion of high pressure air under the airfoil,
which is responsible for the higher lift produced by the airfoil.
 SIMULATIONS

The above two charts clearly show that the high pressure under the pressure surface of
the airfoil is maintained in case of the ground effect, while the pressure decreases
sharply after the leading edge in case of the wing with no ground effect.
 CFD
For the final model, we chose the NACA 6410 airfoil, and the wing model was made as an anhedral inverted delta
wing configuration. The wing was simulated at a freestream velocity of 40 m/s, using the k-w SST turbulence
model. Y+ values in the mesh were kept at around 1-2 for the simulations.

The final mesh had 631608 nodes. The mesh was a structured hex type mesh. A time-independent RANS solver
was used for the simulation.
 CFD
Wing configuration was as shown in the figure(not to scale):
 RESULT
The Cl vs Alpha characteristics of the wing was interpolated from the data obtained from the lift at
5 and 8 degrees. It was assumed that the lift followed a linear trend with angle of attack from 0 to
10 degrees angle of attack.
 RESULT
The wing was simulated at 5 and 8 degrees angle of attack, and also at h/c values 1 and 0.6. With
the help of these data points, the moments were calculated at different chord values and best fit
line was taken.

Centre of moment Centre of Height

This gave us that the Center of Moment lies at a distance of 0.223 times chord length from leading
edge, while the center of height at 0.411 times the chord length.
RESULT
From the given equations, choosing a
moment arm of 0.55m, we find that the
tail plane must provide a lift of 41.7N.
To stabilize this, we find that a
horizontal stabilizer of area 0.0425m^2
is needed. This is much smaller than
that required for a conventional wing.

Thus, the inverted delta wing has

proven to be easier to stabilize under
ground effect as compared to
conventional wings. The horizontal
stabilizer can be easily made out of a
wing of span 0.2125m and chord length
0.2m
 THANK YOU
Presentation by Group-V

IIT KHARAGPUR VISCOUS FLOW THEORY