A numerical investigation on the ground effect of a flapping-flying bird

The flight of a small bird under the influence of the ground effect is numerically investigated with a complete three-dimensional model including the bird's body and wings. The flight mode is not the conventional steady gliding flight but an unsteady flight consisting of flapping, twisting, and folding motions. As the bird approaches the ground, the average lift force gradually increases while the average drag force decreases. At a particular distance, the average lift force increases by approximately 47%, whereas the average drag force decreases by nearly 20%, relative to the absence of the ground effect. Because of the ground, the improved aerodynamic performance in flapping flight is much more significant than in steady flight, in which the modification of the lift-drag ratio is typically less than 10%. On the basis of the flow field, regardless of the presence or absence of the ground, there exists no evidence for an obstruction of a wing-tip vortex, which is a remarkable phenomenon and accounts for the improved performance in steady flight. The extent of the region of high pressure beneath the wing in the near-ground case seems to surpass that in the far-ground case, accounting for the greater lift and thrust forces in the near-ground case. This air cushion beneath the wing, known as the cram effect, is the dominant factor of the ground effect on a flapping bird.