Aerodynamic Characteristics of Rectangular Wing with Square Laternal Tip

A numerical study has been conducted to investigate aerodynamic characteristics and the behavior of wing-tip vortices of the three-dimensional symmetric wing (NACA0015) in the vicinity of the ground. Two distinct phenomena, ground effect and Venturi effect, can be observed when the wing is approaching to the ground and change the aerodynamic characteristics significantly. The symmetric wing in the vicinity of the ground shows both phenomena according to the pitch angles. The ground effect increases the lift and decreases the drag, simultaneously, but the Venturi effect decreases the lift and increases the drag significantly. The high dynamic pressure, and positive wing tip vortex of the Venturi effect augment the friction drag and the induced drag dramatically, unlike the ground effect. The vortex core at the wing tip moves into the center of the wing when the Venturi effect is dominant whereas the vortex core moves outward when the ground effect is dominant.