An experimental technique for accurate simulation of the flow field for wing-in-surface-effect craft

Abstract

SummaryThis paper describes a simple method to accurately simulate the flow field around a wing in surface effect ship (Wises) model that involves the use of a contraction and a slot to suck the boundary layer from a flat plate. Theoretical aspects of the design are discussed with relation to the required level of suction and the slot width.The effectiveness is ascertained from measurements of the boundary layer height on the plate through measurement of the mean velocity profile and a reduction in height of 50% was generally observed when suction was used.Comparison of the forces on a low aspect-ratio wing, obtained from the proposed and the image method, verified the proposed method for wing heights above 2·5% of the mean chord. At lower heights, separation of the boundary layer on the ground plate is thought to have altered the pressure distribution on the wing.