An Investigation into Dynamic Stability of Waterborne Aircraft on Take-off and Landing (RDF17/MCE/DALA)

The Ekranoplan (Waterborne Ground Effect Aircraft) concept has the potential to offer a form of high speed efficient marine transport if certain technical obstacles are overcome. These problems are hydrodynamic drag on takeoff and stability across all flight regimes.

An Ekranoplan must be stable during flight and on the water. Irodov (1970) and Stauffenbiel (1987) suggested that in aerodynamic flight, an Ekranoplan’s dynamic stability could be modelled in the same way as an aircraft’s, with additional mathematical terms that relate to its altitude. In the study of high speed hulls, Savitsky (1964, 1976) claimed that a hydrodynamic instability limit is reached, before porpoising occurs. During takeoff and landing, an Ekranoplan is subjected to both aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces. In order to improve current design techniques, it is necessary to provide a method of describing the combined effects of both aerodynamics and hydrodynamics, and their impact on the stability of the Ekranoplan. This combination of effects is the subject of this research. To describe these effects, both experiment and computational fluid dynamics shall be used.

The first objective is to investigate solely the hydrodynamics. This will be followed by an investigation into the aerodynamics using our new wind tunnel with a moving floor. When these have been satisfactorily described, an investigation into the combined effects of hydrodynamics and aerodynamics shall be performed. The knowledge gained through this research will also contribute directly to the development of other vehicles that operate in this regime, such as hydroplaning vessels.

Eligibility and How to Apply
Please note eligibility requirement:
• Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.
• Appropriate IELTS score, if required (evidence required by 1 August 2017).

For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/

Please ensure you quote the advert reference above on your application form.
Deadline for applications: 20 January 2017
Start Date: 2 October 2017

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