Aeroelasticity of a generic wing in ground effect

The front wing of a Formula car has a significant impact on the overall aerodynamic performance of the vehicle. Previous research proved that the wing proximity to the ground plays a crucial role in the generation of loads and flow structures. However, all previous published research disregarded the effects of wing deformation. This study investigates the aeroelastic behaviour of a downforce producing wing in ground effect by developing and comparing the static loosely-coupled and the tightly-coupled FSI methods. The static loosely-coupled method was incapable of reproducing the loads and deflection oscillations captured by the tightly-coupled FSI, but computed the time-averaged deflection and loadings with discrepancies less than 3% despite using 21 times less computational resources. Further static loosely-coupled FSI simulations were undertaken to analyse the lift loss phenomenon of a flexible wing at two Reynolds numbers. For the Reynolds number of 4.46×105, based on a chord length of 0.223m, the critical height shifted from ́„‌=0.080̧‘ to ́„‌=0.091̧‘, whereas it shifted from ́„‌=0.080̧‘ to ́„‌=0.101̧‘ for the Reynolds number of 6.69×105. This variation in critical height has been linked to an earlier main wing vortex break down caused by the reduced tip ground clearance due to the deflection.