Lift/drag prediction of 3-dimensional WIG moving above free surface

The aerodynamic effects of a 3-dimensional Wing in Ground Effect (WIG) which moves above the free surface has been numerically investigated via finite difference techniques. The air flow field around a WIG is analyzed by a Marker & Cell (MAC) based method, and the interactions between WIG and the free surface are studied by the pressure distributions on the free surface. Waves are generated by the surface pressure distribution, and a Navier-Stokes solver has been employed, to include the nonlinearities in the free surface conditions. The pressure values Cp and lift/drag ratio are reviewed by changing the height/chord ratio. In the present computations a NACA0012 airfoil with a span/chord ratio of 3.0 are treated. Through computational results, it is confirmed that the free surface can be treated as a rigid wavy wall.