The dimensionless lift coefficient and drag coefficient are defined as:

L = CL . A . q
D = CD . A . q
where:
L is the lift force
CL is the dimensionless lift coefficient
D is the drag force
CD is the dimensionless drag coefficient
A is a reference area, usually the plan area (maximum projected area onto a plan
e) of an airfoil or wing
q is the free stream fluid dynamic pressure from Bernoulli's equation:
q = 1/2 rho . V2
where:
rho is the fluid density
V is the free stream fluid speed
The plan area is used to calculate the drag coefficient only for airfoils. For a
ll other shapes, such as cars, the reference area is the frontal area of the sha
pe projected onto a plane normal to the flow direction.
Lift and drag forces in a wind tunnel experiment are measured directly using bal
ances. For numerical techniques that produce the pressure at discrete locations
on a mesh, the total force is obtained by summing the forces at all mesh element
s. The force on a single mesh element is defined as:
Fi = pi . Ai . ni
where:
pi is the pressure at the center of the element
Ai is the element area
ni is the element normal direction
i is the ith element
Assuming the flow is aligned with the z-direction, the total force is resolved i
nto lift and drag force components as:
L = Fy . cos(alpha) - Fx . sin(alpha)
D = Fx . cos(alpha) + Fy . sin(alpha)
where:
L is the lift force
D is the drag force
Fx is the force in the x-direction
Fy is the force in the y-direction
alpha is the angle of attack