NI1-

Unit-
Ground effect
The high power requirement necded to hover out of ground effect is reduced when operating inn
ground effect. Ground effect is a condition of improved performance encountered when
operating near (within 1/2 rotor diameter) of the ground. It is due to the interference of the
surface with the airflow pattern of the rotor system, and it is more pronounced the nearer the
ground is approached. Increased blade efficiency while operating in ground effect is due to two
separateand distinct phenomena. First and most important is the reduction of the velocity of the
induced airflow. Since the ground interrupts the airflow under the helicopter, the entire flow is
altered. This reduces downward velocity of the induced flow. The result is less induced drag and
a more vertical lift vector. The lift needed to sustain a hover can be produced with a reduced
angle of attack and less power because of the more vertical lift vector:

TOTAL AEROOYNAMIC
FORCE

IFT MORE VERTICAL

NDUCED DRAG REDUCEO ANGLE

OF ATTACK
REDUCED

INDUCED
WIND
VELOCITTY
01RECTION REDUCED
OF
AIRFOIL RELATIVE
WIND

DOWNWASH ANGLE REDUCE0

FIGURE 2-38. IN-GROUND-EFFECT HoVER.

The second phenomena is a reduction of the rotor tip vortex

 ROTOR
TIP
vORTEX

7
oUT-OF-GROUND-EFFECT HOVER.

REDUCEDo
) ROTOR TIP
vORTEX
Q

IN-GAOUND-EFFECT HOVER.
FIGURE 2-38.

When operating in ground effect, the downward and outward airflow pattern tends to restrict
vortex generation. This makes the outboard portion of the rotor blade more efficient and reduces
overall system turbulence caused by ingestion and recirculation of the vortex swirls.

Rotor efficiency is increased by ground effect up to a height of about one rotor diameter for most
helicopters. This figure illustrates the percent increase in rotor thrust experienced at various rotor

heigh

,S
 ROTOR HErONT.ABOVt anoUND

ROTOR OAMETEHS

FIGURE 2-39. INCREASED LIFT CAPABILITY

IN-GROUN0-EFFECT,

At rotor
At a rotor height of one-half rotor diameter, the thrust is increased about 7 percent.
heights above one rotor diameter, the thrust increase is small and
decreases to zero at a height of
about 1 1/4 rotor diameters.

Maximum ground.effectis.accomplished when hovering over smooth paved surfaces. While

hovering over tall grass, rough terrain, revetments, or water, ground effect may be seriously
reduced. This phenomena is due to the partial breakdown and cancellation of ground effect and
the return of large vortex patterns with increased downwash angles.

Two identical airfoils with equal blade pitch angles arecompared in the following figure:
 ANGLE OE
ATTACK LIFT

RELATIVEE OUT-OF-GROUND.
wINO
EFFECT

AIRFOL INDUCED
DIRECTION FLOW

LIFT INCREASED
AND TILTED
NCREASED
ANGLE OF TOWAR0
VERTICAL
ATTACK IN-GROUND
EFFECT
RELATIVE
WIND

AIRFOIL REDUCED
DIAECTION INOUCED
FLOW

FIGURE 2.40. EFFECT OF GROUNO PROXIMITY

AT A CONSTANT PITCH ANGLE.

The top airfoil is out-of-ground-effect while the bottom airfoil is in-ground-effect. The airfoil
that is in-ground-effeet-is more-efficient.because it operates at a larger angle of attack and
produces a more vertical lift vector. Its increased efficiency results from a smaller downward
induced wind velocity which increases angle of attack. The airfoil
operating out-of-ground-effect
is less efficient because of increased induced wind
velocity which reduces
angle of attack. If a
helicopter hovering out-of-ground-effect descends into a ground-effect hover, blade efficiency
increases because of the more favorable induced flow. As efficiency of the rotor system
increases, the pilot reduces blade pitch angle to remain in the ground-effect hover. Less power is
required to maintain however in-ground-effect than for the out-of-ground-effect hover.
Hovercraft
hand in the air, there is
Friction is a force that opposes motion. When you wave your
very little friction opposing
the motion of your hand. However, when you slide your
force of friction acting againstthe
hand across the table, it is harder because there is a larger
movement of your hand.

Air Cushion Vehicle or ACV

A Hovercraft is also sometime called an water,land,
Hovercraft fly just two feet above any surface, allowing
it to navigate safely across

ice, snow or any combination.

and supported by a cushion of air retained

Hovercraft are propelled by air screws (propellers) are

within a flexible structure.

retained
low friction interface. The air is
The flexible structure and cushion of air provide very
a

craft to travel over a wide rangeof terrain.

The skirt simply
by a rubber' skirt' that enables the
when an obstacle is encountered.
gives way
a cushion of slightly pressurized air
A hovereraft is an amphibiousevehiclethatis supported by transportation.
Althoughoften seenas a mysterious,even bizarremode of it is conceptually.guite
Simple
to realize that the dynamics are more closely
To understand how hovercraft work, it is necessary cushion vehicles
a member of a family of air
related to aircraft than to boats or automobiles. As surface
which includes wing-in-ground-effect or ram wings,
(ACVs) or Ground Affect machines, are the amphibious members
effect ships, sidewall hovercraft, and surface skimmers, hovercraft,
novel vehicles that are supported by
of the air cushion vehicle family. They are the
most among
about exactly how hovercraft work.
pressurized air. Refer to the illustration below as you read
 fan
+cthros steerin9
Q engine
skirting
F t air

acUShion

Hovercraft float on a cushion of air that has been forced under the craft by a fan. This causes the
craft to rise or lift. The amount of lift can range from 6" to 108" (152mm to 2,743mm) depending
on the size of the hovercraft. The amount of total weight that a hovercraft can raise is equal to
cushion pressure multiplied by the area of the hovercraft. To make the eraft function more
efficiently, it is necessary to limit the cushion air from escaping, so the air is contained bythe use
of what is called a hovercraft skirt. Fashioned from fabric, which allows a deep cushion or
clearance of obstacles, hovercraft skirts vary in style ranging from bags to cells jupes) to
separate fingered sections called segments.

Once "lifted" or "on cushion", thrust must be created to move the hovercraft forward. With many
craft, this is generated by a separate engine from the one used to create the lift, but with some,
the same engine is used for both. As the diagram above indicates, the fan-generated air stream is
split so that part of the air is directed under the hull for lift, while most of it is used for thrust.

Now that the hovercraft has lift and thrust, it must be steered safely. This is achieved through the
use of a system of rudders behind the fan, controlled by handlebars up front. Steering can also be
controlled by the use of body weight displacement ... a skill which is achieved after practice.

APPLICATIONS:
Modern Hovercraft are used for many applications where people or equipment need to
travel at speed over water but be able to load and unload on land.
Uses for hovercraft hovercraft vehicles:
Flood and Ice Rescue
Wetland Geological Survey
.Pipeline Support
Law Enforcement
Organizations currently using hovercraft
U.S. Coast Guard
Border Patrol Fire Rescue
Dive SAR Wildlife
Control National Parks Service
Drug Enforcement
Coastal Authorities Port Authorities
It was thought that pads of high-pressure air could replace the wheels of a car. However, two
main difticulties became
1. Pads of
apparent:
high-pressure air proved difficult and wasteful
it to travel over any but the smoothest surface. of power to lift the car high enough for
2. The difficulty of
propulsion. As soon as physical contact with the
method of propulsion had to be devised to replace that usually supplied by ground
is lost, a new
the wheels.
Because of these problems, the Hover car
concept has never been a reality and commercial use
has moved towards the Hover train but even then with limited
success.
Rails provide smooth surface for the high-pressure air and the guidance from the tracks
Overcomes the problem of steering. Either an engine with a propeller or an electrical linear
induction motor provides the hover train forward and reverse movement.
Other than these, the hover principle is used for moving large or heavy objects but is limited to
very special applications. The Hovercraft as a vehicle is still in common use but not in large
volumes as was first thought. As engine and materials technology progress, the Hovercraft may
yet make a comeback.

What is a hovercraft
A hoyercraftis one of the childrenof the air cushionvehice (ACV) family that flies above the
earth's surface on a cushion of air. It is powered by an engine that provides both the lift cushion
and the thrust for forward or
reverse movement. The hovercraft is a true multi-terrain, year-round
vehicle that can easily make the transition from land to
water because it slides on a cushion
ubble) of air with the hovercraft skirt slightly brushing the surface
How does a hovereraft work?
To understand how hovercraft work, it is necessary to realize that the dynamics are morè closely
related to aircraftthan to boats or automobiles. Hovercraft floaton acushion ofáirthathas been
forced underthe craft by a fan. Thiscausesthe craftto rise orlift and fly above the surface.
Hovercraft aretheamphibious member of the air cushion vehicle family and arethe most novel
a m o n g v e h i c l e st h a t are supported by pressurized air. See a diagram and read adetailed

explanation of how hovercraft work

How
is ahovercraftdifferent than an airboat?
Hovercraft use less fuel, make less noise, are dynamically safer,are more maneuverable and
versatile and are better at amphibious tasks than airboats, Hovercraft are flying machines that
ravel abovetnesurfaceoniacushion ofair,Airboatsare simply flat-bottomedboats with ahuge
two-to six-baded propellei theirentire weightplanesacros the surfacelike aski.On watet,
airboatscreate awake: hovereraft do notbecause they iy severalinchesabove.the water. Both
areamphibious vehicles butthe hovererat, sinceitrideson a bubble ofair,is betterondry
terrain. Unlike hovereraft,airboatscan'toperate very wellovermud,sand, pavement,gravel
grass or otherdry surfaces. Theaitboats lathullis usually coated with plastictoreduce:friction
and help protect its hull when crossing such terrain Airboats are evenlimited to fairly smooth
water becaiuse theirhulls contain minimum flotation and are easily swamped. The airboat's1all
propeller also limits itsusefulness in areas with overhead obstructions, which are often found in
flood conditions. The airboat's propellerruns closetothe speed of soundand generates tiwice the
noise of a hovercraft.
Airboats have a high
thrust-to-weight
weight. Hovereratt thrust ratio, close to l:1, so airboat thrust is
is only 1/10 the equal to gross
thru_t, an airboat consumes two gross weight. Sínco energy consumption is reiatcu o
to threc times more
more fuel. energy than a hovercraft, therelore uses

The airboat's
high center of gravity makes them. prone to
flipping over. Hovercraft are also more
maneuverable than airboats, especially Neoteric craft whose
them back at
up specd. patented reverse thrust system lets
Which is correct:
hovercrafi, hovercrafis, hover
Even though you may see it spelled hovercrafts, craft or
hover
hover crafis
craf, hover crafis, or even hovererafs,
there is
only ONE correct spelling: hovercrafl- whether singular
hovercratt or you may have twelve hovercraft. It follows the sameorrule
plural. You may have one
as the word aircraft: You
may have one aircraft or twelve
aircraft, but you never haye any aircrafis, air crafi or air crajis,
What are hovercraft used
for?
Hovercraft are so versatile
that their applications are as diverse as the people who use them.
They are most often used to reach areas that are
A inaccessible on foot or by conventional yehicles.
partial listing of present uses.includès
Exploring the vast number of shallow and narrow waterways that cannot be reached by boat
Rescue work on swift water, ice, snow, mud
bogs, marshes and floodwaters.
flats, deserts, wetlands, shallow water, swamps,
Affordable, safe way to fly without a pilot's license.
Transport in environmentally sensitive areas where habitat, erosion and soil compaction are a
Concern

Wildlife conservation and research

Transportation or "island-hopping" with clients for real estate purposes
Fishing anywhere... including ice fishing
Traveling from land to water where there is no boat dock
Military sérvices
Dive recovery teams
Retrieving birds from tailings.ponds at mining sites
Water management
Port authorities/drug enforcement
TV and film companies
Entertainment at Disney. World water shows
Agricultural spraying
Survey work
Forestation
Heayyload movement across difficult surfaces
Mosquito abatement
Environmental testing .

Charter operations .

Oil spitl cleanup

Removing leaves lirom Pecan farms
"IBird hazing"- chasing gccse from lakes in the vicinity of airports

Do hovercraft hurt the environment?

No. The unique characteristics of the hovereraft make it one of the most environmentally
fricndly vehiclesin the world. One öf these charácteristics is the hovercrafts "footprint that
low
pressure,The pressure a hovercraft exerts on its operating surface is conservatively 1/30tT
GFtto human foot!. 1The average human being standing on ground exerts a pressure of about3-tbIn
per square inch (20.KPa), and that increäses to 25 l6 per squareinch (172 KPa) when walking.
inch even
contrast,the average hovercraft exerts a pressure of only 0.33 1b (2.2 KPa) per square
less as speed increases. This "footprintpressure" is below that of a seagull standing on one leg!
Hovercraft have literally flown overa pedestrian Withoutintlicting harm
Environmental Impactof Hovercráft
How safe is a hovereraft?
Over the hovercraft's half-century of existence. it has proven to be quite possibly the safest
vehicleeverbuilt Unlike boats,hovercraftnever sink;theirplan-form areá mustbe large for lift
purposes, so they carry lots of flotatoncompartments or foam, which prevents sinking. Because
they travel above the surface on a cushion of air,hovereraft fly over obstacles rather than
colliding with them. As an example, a hovercraftcan fly over a person on dry land without
harmingthem and can even fly over eggs without crackingthem! And because hovercraft tend to
operate where no other vehicle can go, the risk of vehicle-to-vehicle crashes is extremely low.

Hover height
The capability of helicopters to operate and hover diminishes as the operating altitude increases.
This thinning of the air is known as density altitude. At higher altitudes, thin air reduces engine
performance known as torque as well as the ability of the rotor blades to grab air and fly or
hover.
Density altitude restricts the payload of the helicopter, causing a trade-off between usable
payload and fuel. Atmospheric temperature also contributes to the effects of density altitude.
Warmer or hot air, especially in the summer, can drastically reduce the
helicopters operating at higher altitudes.
payload and capability of
Hover-out of ground effect (HOGE) This is the absolute limit of the
hover. Factors that contribute to this limit are helicopter's ability to
available
density altitude, atmospheric temperature,
engine torque, and payload.
Hover-in-ground-effect (HIGE) Helicopters are able to hover anywhere from 5-80 feet above
high mountain peaks because of the interaction between the ground and the
blades. This means a helicopter can hover within a few feet of a helicopter's rotor
mountain top but if it were to try
to hover in mid air, it would not have
sufficient lift.
Most helicopters hover within "ground effect". This is defined as a height above
ground
equivalent to the rotor diameter, that is, if the span of the tip of one rotor to the other is 100
then helicopter is capable of hovering in ground effect up to 100 feet. The
the feet,
ground effect is that up to that limit, the air is physically importance of
between the helicopter and the compressed beneath the helicopter,
ground, and a cushion of the air is created. At altitudes above
ground in excess of one
rotor
diameter the
power must
be
helicopter to provided by the rotors and
ground effect is lost, with the
hover, by more fuel result is that much
with ground effect. brute force. This burned as the
cushion more
The
also means there is an dissipates,
altitude limit forcing the
highest to
altitudes of helicopter hovering capability,
hovering, even
Without approximately
under
15,000 to 18,000 feet. the most unusual circumstances, has
altitudes.hovering, limited to about 30,000 feet,Translational been at
is
flight, or normal
forward
in
addition, during hover
but rarely do
helicopters operate at fight
such
ground material that flight, at low altitude, a visual
can be obscuration
"brown out" with dust and blown up into the rotors. This causes a may
sand. The
occur when
flying over
"white out" with snow, or a
suspended particulate material and the
result is that the
helicopter is engulfed in the cloud of a
helicopters are equipped with radar pilot will lose outside reference and horizon cues.
height, even at one or two altimeters that permit them to Most
feet determine their
transitional motion. Itabove-ground
to avoid above ground level, as well as
occur:
sideways
motion while
landing, as a phenomenon known is important
When drifting sideways, sometimes due to a
with wheel while
as
dynamic roll over may
a
moving cross wind, a
helicopter may touch down
its
longitudinal sideways.
axis until the rotor
This torque will cause the
entire helicopter to rotate around
strikes the ground, and the vehicle rolls up in a ball.
Maintaining height above ground and
coordination can ground
help prevent this, particularly position is extremely important and crew
water. when flying over poor reference
surfaces, such as
8.1 AIR-CUSHION SYSTEMS AND THEIR PERFORMANCE
There are two
principal types of air cushion system: the
the peripheral jet. plenum chamber and
8.1.1 Plenum Chamber
Figure 8.1 shows the basic features of a simple plenum chamber
majority of current air-cushion vehicles [8.1]. The
configuration. Pressurized air is pumpedessentially employ a plenum
into the chamberby a fan orchamber
a com-
pressor to form an air cushion that supports the vehicle. Under
conditions, the air being pumped into the chanmber is just sufficientsteady-state
to replace
the air leaking uncier the peripheral gap, and the
weight of the vehicle w is
equal to the lift Feu generated by the cushion préssure Peu
 FAN
Dehe
Fig 8.1 Geometryof a simple plenum chamber (Reproduced with permissionfirom
Hovererafi Designa Goushrvction by GH EIsley and A.. Devereux, copýright
by Elsley and Devereux 1968.)
(8.1)
where A is.the effecnve qushion area
For most curicntdesigns the cushion.pressure varies in the range 123:3
kPa (25-70 Ib/t)for overwater and overland vehicles: For high-specd
guided ground transport vehicles, acu_hion pressure of 4.2 kPa (87 lb/t)
has been used.
Assume that the ai inside the chamber is essentially at rest. From Ber
noulli's theorem,thevelocity of air escaping under the peripheral gap Vis
given by
.
Peripheral skirt
The
performance of the
analytically, asmultiple-cone system with a peripheral skirt
be evaluated
pressure inside the cones is shown by Wong [8.3]. Consider may
Cones is p.u and that that the cushion
k,Pu and assume that the air between the peripheral skirt and the
rest; then from Bemoulli's inside
the cushion is substantially at
peripheral Vea is given by
skirt theorcm, the velocity of the air escaping under
the

AIR FEED

PERIPHERAL-
SKIRT Peu CONEs
Na.

Fig. 84 Mulliple-cone system with a peripheral skirt.

S-)
 Currently, there are two
principal forms of
plenum chamber in use: one
with a ffexible skirt, and the other with a
sidewall, gombination of flexible skirt and
shown in Fig. 8.2. The prime rcason for using the
as
is allow the vehicle to have, rolatively
to fexible skirt
large
structure.and the supporting surface, johileat the clearance betweer its Hard
ance beight undef the same time keeplng the clear-
skirt sufficiently'súal to énable the power nequiredfor
lift to remain withinireasonable linits Acombination
sidewall is used in marine dir-cushion vehicles in which of the
flexiblekir and
air
through the gaps in the front and rear of the vehicle. The air incantheonly Ieak
cushion
is prevented fronicleaking along the stdes by tigid
sidewalls immersed
water. Thus, the pöwer reguired to sustain the cnshion is reduced Thein the
wallsican also cortribute to the directional stability of the yehicle side
bere are man variantsot the plenumhamber configuration with a fex
ible skirt Figure3 shows the miltiple -cone skirt system used
Terraplane BC7 8.21. The conical form.ensures that the shapemthe Bertin
of the skirt
under pressure is stable,h System can provide the vehicle with
roll and pitch stability. When fhe vehicle rolls suficient
the air gap of the cone on he
downgoing, side is educed. Conseguently, the air flow from
creases and the cushion prè_sure increases. his, together withthat the
side de-
of cushion pressure in the coDe on the upgoing side, decreáse
moment that tends to provides a restoring
bring the vehicle back to its original position. ThiIS

LAIUUnUUMEID
FEXIBLE SKIRT
.

RIGID
.

SIDEWALL

WATER
8.1.2 Perlpheral Jet
n the early days of development of the air-cushion technology,theperipheral
jet system was used. This system is schematically shown in Fig. 8.6. In this
syrstem, a curtain of air is produced around the periphery by ejecting a
downward and inward from a nozzle. This curtain of air helps contain the
cushion ünder the vehicle and reduces air leakage. Thus, it could offer higher
operational efficiency than the simple plenum chamber
In addition to the lift force generated by the cushion pressure, the air jet
also provides a small amount of vertical lift.Under steady-state conditions,
the weight of the vehicle W is balancedby the lift foree Feu
O
Tav
de/2
P+dp
ptdp
B
Fig. 8.6 Geometry of a peripheral jet system.
S
 Fu W Prad + J} sin 0,

where J is thc momentum filux of the air jet per unit length of the nozzle,
which is the product of the jel velocity and mass flow rate per unit nozzle

length, 4, is the nozlo perimeter, and 6, is the angle of the nozzle from the
horizontal.
There are a number of theories for predicting the performance of peripheral
jet systems. Among them, the so-called "exponential theory" is one of the
most commonly used. In this theory, it is assumed that from the outlet of the
nozzle (point A) to the point of ground contlact (point B), the jet maintains
its thickness as well as its circular path, and that the air is inviscid and
incompressible. The total pressure p, is assumed to be constant across the jet
with a static pressure gradient within it. The distribution of static pressure p
across the jet must satisfy the boundary conditions, that is. p = 0 atthe outside
andp Peu at the cushion side.
Consider a small element of the jet at a distance r from the center of
curvature O. The pressure difference across the element is balanced by the
centrifugal force, and the equation of cquilibrium for the clement is given by

(p +dp) (r + dr^de -prd6-2p sin(de/2)dr = rdrd6

where V is the velocity of the element.

Neglecting second-order terms and making simplifications, such as sín{del
2)de/2, one can rewrite the equation above as

(8.18)

Since the total pressure p; is assumed to be constant across the jet, from
Bermoulli's theorem, the following relationis obtaincd:

Pp+2 (8.19)