SOdhan& Vol.23, Parts 5 & 6, Oct & Dec 1998.pp. 569-577.

© IndianAcademyof Sciences

Surface effect aero-hydrodynamics and its applications

ERJIE CU1

Beijing Institute of Aerodynamics. P.O, Box 7201, Beijing 100074. China

Abstract. Surlace effect aero-hydrodynamics, as one of the influencing fac-

tors in the design and operation of wing-in-ground effect vehicles, is briefly
illustrated. Some important issues are discussed. These include high lift/drag
configuration, power augmented ram, |light stability and control and wind-wave
effects on aerodynamics.

Keywords. Aero-hydrodynamics; surface effect; wing-in-ground effect

vehicle.

1. Introduction

The study of surface effect aero-hydrodynamics is mainly concerned with various com-
plex phenomena and characteristics of bodies moving closely near air-water surface. It
was discovered in the early part of this century that such a surface has a great influ-
ence on the aerodynamic characteristics of a vehicle ltymg close to it. A reduction in
induced drag and an increase in lift/drag ratio are experienced during flight. Because
of these obvious advantages, research in this area has attracted much attention and nu-
merous investigations have been conducted. Comprehensive reviews on the developmem
of surface aero-hydrodynamics and the design philosophies of lhe surface vehicle are
given by ltooker (1989), Steinbach & Jacob (1991), Ando (1993) and Rozhdestvensky
(1995).
In recent years, the urgent need tor fast and cost-efficient water surface transportation
has promoted the rapid development of a variety of high speed surface vehicles, such
as hovercraft, hydrofoils and, the most attractive one, the Wing-In-Ground effect (WIG)
vehicles.
The WIG vehicle, flying close to the water surface, has many advantages compared to
other high-speed ships and ordinary airplanes. It can be widely used for both civil and
militm'y purposes.
As a basic factor in the design and operation of surface effect and other high-speed
water surface transportation vehicles, surface effect aero-hydrodynamics developed very
quickly in the past decade. Both theoretical and experimental investigations were con-
ducted and some new understanding has been achieved. But there are still many practical
problems encountered in design and operation, which have to be solved for this new kind
of transportation system.
569
570 Erjie Cui

In this paper, our discussions are mainly concentrated on the basic understanding as
well as engineering applications of the aero-hydrodynamics and related mechanism of the
surface effects in connection with the development of WIG vehicles. Some results obtained
in recent years are presented briefly.

2. High lift/drag configuration with surface effects

In order to predict the aero-hydrodynamic performance of WIG vehicles flying both in

and out of the ground effects, many theoretical studies have been carried out, including
methods for predicting lift and drag, as well as overall aerodynamic performance, and
considerable progress has been made in this direction.
For two-dimensional airloils with or without flaps and airlerons, numerous calculation
methods based on potential theory arc now available, see Steinbach (1985), Steinbach &
Jacob (1991), Ando et al (1992). For three-dimensional wing and wing with end-plate,
potential theory methods such as the panel and the vortex lattice methods are developed.
CFD methods based on the solution of Euler or Navier-Stokes equations, for example,
the Finite Difference Method (FDM) and Finite Volume Method (FVM), have also been
investigated by a number of researchers during the past twenty years and remarkable
progress has been made in this respect.
In recent years, we have established a computational method based oil the solution of
Navier-Stokes equations in conservation form by the use of Finite Volume fiwmulation
and Flux-Split schemes. For viscous flow cases, the Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model
was adopted. The mixed structured-unstructured meshes used in computation of the flow
around the airfoil given by Zhang (1996) are shown in figure 1. For three-dimensional cases,
we developed the panel method, which can be used to calculate the pressure distribution

Figure 1. Mixedcomputationalmesh used lor airfoil.

 Surface effect aero-hydrodynamics and its applications 571

o/ I I I
4 8 12 16
cx-° Figure 2. Lilt coefficientCL fi)r airfoil.

and the lift coefficient of the wing including surface effects. It is shown that the computed
results are satisfactory even at close proximity to ground surface, for example, h/c <_0.2
where c is the mean aerodynamic chord (figure 2).
The WIG configuration is usually complex, with wing, fuselage, tail planes, end-plates
and control surfaces, and so calculation of the aerodynamics is very difficult. Hence,
analysis and design have to rely mainly on experimental data with appropriate empirical
corrections. In the past several years, a large number of experiments on scaled models with
and without engine power simulations have been carried out by Han et al (1996) in our low-
speed wind tunnel with 3m × 3m test section. A six-component balance and a scanning
valve are used for measurement of aerodynamic forces and pressures. Propeller thrust,
dynamic air-cushion effects and control surface efficiency are measured simultaneously in
these experiments.
It is known from these investigations that the lilt coefficient is greatly increased with a
decrease in the height above the surface. The lilt/drag ratio can also be apparently increased
by a suitable design of the geometry of the components and the positions of the wing and
tail, as well as by improving the junction between the wing and the fuselage (figures 3 and
4).

1-8

CL 1.0

0.6 --
~ 0 °
0.2
1-4 1.8 22 28 Figure 3. Variations of lift coefficientCt. with al-
h(m) titude H.
572 Erjie Cui

10

If o 1,oo
o 1.25

4
I [ 15°1
-4 0 4 8 12 Figure 4. Variation of lift/drag ratio with angle
oc of attack oe.

It is worth pointing out that the aspect ratio o f the wing has a strong influence on the
lilt/drag ratio: for the wing with a large aspect ratio, for example, for aspect ratio A R > 3,
the lift/drag ratio may be greater than 30, at small separation distances from the surface.
Besides we see, through careful analysis, that most o f the existing designs of WIG ve-
hicles are not optimal from the viewpoint of surface aero-hydrodynamics, and we lirmly
believe that, after skillful overall arrangement, optimal configuration with high aerody-
namic performance can be obtained.

3. A e r o - h y d r o d y n a m i e s with P A R

More than twenty years ago, a lot of basic work was done on Power-Augmented Ram
(PAR) and it has in many respects manifested its superiority in the elimination o f many
of the operational limitations of the WIG vehicle; one such case is in the reduction of the
drag hump and alleviation of impact load of waves on the hull bottom, which considerably
increase the acceleration during take-off.
There are many possible ways to produce the PAR effect in WIG vehicles, for example,
by using the slip flow of propellers, the effiuxes o f turbine fan or even jet engines.
For small and middle sized WIG vehicles non-ducted or ducted air-propellers (or turbine
fan engines) are usually employed as a propulsion system. Guide vanes are installed at the

Jducted propeller

uide vane wing

surfoce
/
~///I/////II////////A Figure 5. Power augmented ram model.
 Surface effect aero-hydrodynamics and its applications 573

3
Cy
2

1 l l 1 1
2 4 6
Figure 6. Increments of lift with PAR.

rear part of the duct, so as to guide the slip flow of the propeller (or jet engine) into the area
bounded by the wing surface, the end-plate and the water surface. Significant lift increase
can be achieved through exploitation of the PAR effects.
So far, the PAR theory has been mainly based on two-dimensional models as shown in
figure 5. From the theoretical and experimental results given by Krause (1978), it is seen
that the important parameters related to PAR are chord length c, relative altitude h/c and
excess thrust ratio (T - D p ) / T , where T is the engine thrust and Dp is the drag from PAR.
For three-dimensional cases of actual WIG vehicles, the flow field under the wing
is very complex depending as it does on the geometry and flow conditions. For certain
parameters, strong recirculating flow may occur in the PAR area. Therefore, theoretical
computation under such conditions is very difficult, and perhaps impossible at present and
hence problems have to be solved mainly by experiments.
In the past two years, extensive experimental work has been done by our research group
and the results obtained show that the static lift provided by PAR may be 4-6 times higher
than the thrust of the engine. The static lift/thrust ratio is shown to be directly related to
the working conditions of the propeller, the profile and the angle of the guide vane, and
the configuration of the end-plate. The geometry and the deflected angle of the flap at the
trailing edge of the wing also have a strong effect on the flow inside the PAR area under
the wing, and we can see from the results obtained from the experiments that extremely
large deflected angles of flap cause serious recirculating flows in this area and so induce
large drag increments.
The influence of PAR on lift and drag is shown in figures 6 and 7. From these figures
we can see that significant increase in lift can be achieved, to lift more than 80% to 90% of
the total weight of the vehicle Also, the change in aerodynamic resistance is considerable
during take-off from the water surface.

4. Flight stability and control

Surface effects can also have great influence upon the flight stability of vehicles both in
take-off and cruise.
574 Erjie Cui

1-0
h=0-25 o /
0.8

Cx 0.6 7
0.4 - b ~ / ~ /

0-2

I I I I I
0 2 4
O¢° Figure 7. Decrements of drag with PAR.

It is well-known that during take-off both hydrodynamic and aerodynamic forces exist
simultaneously. These forces play very important roles in the stability and operating safety,
especially in transition from the take-off to the cruise state. In fact, with some combinations
of configuration and flight parameters, abnormal flight states may occur, with disastrous
consequences (figure 8).
Numerous experiments have shown that when the vehicle is flying very near the surface,
besides the conventional aerodynamic centre X f ~ , which varies with the angle of attack,
there exists another aerodynamic c e n t r e X f h , which varies with the height above the
surface. The position of the centre of gravity XT with respect to these two aerodynamic
centres is directly related to the stability of the vehicle.
Theoretical analysis by Irodov (1970) shows that the following criteria have to be sat-
isfied in order to keep the longitudinal stability -

aperiodic stability : X,th - X f~ < O,

oscillatory stability : XT < A j Xfh + A2,

where A1 and A2 are known functions of aerodynamic and structural parameters of the
vehicle. The former requires that X f h should be ahead of X f ~ , and the latter provides the
basis for determining the centre of gravity.
In order to ensure flight stability both in and out of the surface effect area, one of the
possible ways is to adjust the aerodynamic c e n t r e X f h near the centre of gravity and use a
bigger horizontal tail unit raised much above the limits of the surface effect to get enough
stability margin.

0.3
ii) '
0.2 / l normal II
h
0.1

0 Figure 8. Abnormalflight states during take-

I I IV off. I - Rapid pitch-up; II - oscillatory diver-
-0-I I I I I gence; III - off-on water contact; IV failure
0 20 40 t to take off.
 Surface effect aero-hydrodynamics and its applications 575

0.6'

.S h
0.4

S
/ S (x
0.2

0 8 10 Figure 9. Spectrum of response in pitching and

2 4 6
heaving.

Besides, there exists a problem of longitudinal trim at the stage of take-off and transition
to cruise. If the parameters of guide vane, flap and elevator etc. are not properly controlled,
unexpected abnormal flying phenomena such as extreme pitch-up may occur leading to
serious operational problems. This has to be carefully and skillfully handled during design
and in operation.

5. W i n d - w a v e effects on a e r o d y n a m i c s

The characteristics of a vehicle moving over waves is significantly different from that mov-
ing over calm water. The aero-hydrodynamic forces are unsteady due to surface fluctuation
and due to the random nature of forces induced by wind-waves.
Two cases of wind-wave environment are usually considered in WIG vehicle design:
the regular sinusoidal wave and the random wave.
Many investigations have been carried out for the simple sinusoidal wave in two-
dimensions. Ando & Ichikawa (1991), Moishita & Ashihara (1996) and others assume
that a fluid is incompressible and all disturbances are sufficiently small, so that linear
theory can be used for the case. The results obtained show that the forces acting on an
airfoil depend not only on the angle of attack and the height above the surface, but also
on the wavelength Z and amplitude A. The phase angle between the wave and the airfoil
motion also has a strong influence on it.

30

2O
cr
~R

o I I I I I i I I
o 2 4 6 8 10 Figure 10. Thrust T and drag I2R during take-
V, mls off.
576 Erjie Cui

160

~h/c=140
120
E
E
N" 80
~ 6 5 ~
40
2 3 4 5 Figure 11. Effects of wave height h on
V,m/s heave amplitude Z.

In random wave conditions, besides the direct effects of the wavy boundary, there also
exists the influence of the interference due to air flow induced by wind-wave interactions.
We can use the statistical method to solve this problem.
Suppose the Power Spectra Density (PSD) of the wave S(co) is known, then the PSD of
induced airflow W (co) and aerodynamic force A (co) can be written as,

W ((o) = IG~,(o9)12 S(co),

and

A (o)) = IG A ((O)I2 W ((o),

where G~((o) and GA((O) represent the frequency response functions for induced air-
flow and aerodynamic force respectively. One of the main tasks in the surface effect
aero-hydrodynamics is to determine these functions.
Figure 9 gives the calculated spectrum for the response in pitching and heaving modes
for a typical airfoil. Finally, according to the linear dynamic theory, the amplitude variance
can be given as

~ = S(~)d~.

There are no practical computational methods for a 3D wing and for a WIG vehicle
configuration flying on waves. In design practice, we use the data obtained by model tests
in towing water channels. Liu (1997) gives a typical curve of the total drag and thrust force

2
ZX~*
I
_ V=5m/s
I I I I I
3 5 7 Figure 12. Effects of wavelength )~ on pitching
K,m an~le Aqb.
 Surface effect aero-hydrodynamics and its applications 577

varying with the velocity under conditions of take-off. Figure 10 shows that total drag is
much higher when waves are present compared to that o f calm water.
Experimental results (figures 11 and 12) also indicate that the height and length o f the
waves have remarkable influence on pitching angle and heave amplitude.
It is worth mentioning that for complex sea conditions, many practical problems are not
satisfactorily solved. These include, for example, the effect o f wave direction, the unsteady
and nonlinear aerodynamic effects under close proximity to surface and high lift conditions
etc. Further investigation is needed in order to solve these problems.

References

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