Aerodynamic characteristics of a wing with a smart flap under the ground effect are studied through the integration of computational fluid dynamics. A parametric bending profile of a smart flap is designed considering different types of beams. Here, a cantilever beam with uniformly varying load with roller support at the free end is considered. The shape of the smart flap is fixed and its advantage comes from its smooth connection to the main wing. In this research, a pressure-based implicit procedure is used to solve Navier-Stokes equations. A non-orthogonal mesh with collocated finite volume formulation is utilized to simulate flow around the wing under the ground effect. First, the method is validated against experimental data. Then, the algorithm is applied for turbulent aerodynamic flows around a wing with smart and conventional flaps for different flap angles and ground clearance. The results of the two wings are compared. It is found that the pressure coefficient distribution for a wing with smart flaps is smoother than that of a wing with conventional flaps, and tip vortexes of the flap and wing diminish for low ground clearance. Finally, the maximum lift-to-drag ratio (L/D) is obtained for a smart wing when the angle of flap (AOF)=7.5° and h/c=0.3.

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