Application of a variational approach to the computation of forces around a wing

In this paper we present an application of the variational approach, introduced by Quartapelle and Napolitano (AIAA J 21:911–913, 1983) and developed further by Protas et al. (J Comput Phys 159:231–245, 2000), which requires only the velocity fields and its derivatives to determine forces acting on a body. First, the approach is presented and adapted to our 3D test problem. The obtained expression for the hydrodynamic force involves a harmonic …