| Popis: |
The aerodynamics of bodies in compressible ground effect flowfields from low-subsonic to supersonic Mach numbers have been investigated numerically and experimentally. A study of existing literature indicated that compressible ground effect has been addressed sporadically in various contexts, without being researched in any comprehensive detail. One of the reasons for this is the difficulty involved in performing experiments which accurately simulate the flows in question with regards to ground boundary conditions. To maximise the relevance of the research to appropriate real-world scenarios, multiple bodies were examined within the confines of their own specific flow regimes. These were: an inverted T026 wing in the low-to-medium subsonic regime, a lifting RAE 2822 aerofoil and ONERA M6 wing in the transonic regime, and a NATO military projectile at supersonic Mach numbers. Two primary aims were pursued. Firstly, experimental issues surrounding compressible ground effect flows were addressed. Potential problems were found in the practice of matching incompressible Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to wind tunnel experiments for the inverted wing at low freestream Mach numbers (M???>0.5), ground clearances and angles of incidence. The presence of the ground was found to affect the critical Mach number, and the aerodynamic characteristics of the bodies across all Mach numbers and clearances proved to be highly sensitive to ground proximity, with a step change in any variable often causing a considerable change to the lift, moment and drag coefficients. At the lowest ground clearances in both two and three dimensional studies, the aerodynamic efficiency was generally found to be less than that of unbounded (no ground) flight for shock-dominated flowfields at freestream Mach numbers greater than 0.7. In the fully-supersonic regime, where shocks tend to be steady and oblique, a supersonic spinning NATO projectile travelling at Mach 2.4 was simulated at several ground clearances. The shocks produced by the body reflected from the ground plane and interacted with the far wake, the near wake, and/or the body itself depending on the ground clearance. The influence of these wave reflections on the three-dimensional flowfield, and their resultant effects on the aerodynamic coefficients, was determined. The normal and drag forces acting on the projectile increased in exponential fashion once the reflections impinged on the projectile body again one or more times (at a height/diameter ground clearance h/d |
