Simulating Aerodynamic Drag Forces

Enrique A. Segura1
1
California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
We developed a simulation to quantify the effects of drag forces on flight trajectories as a function of velocity and
elevation. By using a 45 caliber bullet as a toy model we show how these variables forecast different trajectories
compared to no-drag kinematics. We use two different starting boundary conditions: starting at sea level and at
Colorado Springs, 1840 meters above sea level, to showcase these effects.

STANDARD KINEMATICS FOR FLIGHT TRAJECTORIES Air Density with Changing Elevation
1.2
Before developing a simulation, we should first work out the 1.0

Air Density mkg3

benchmark values we know from standard non drag kinemat-
ics: 0.8

0.6
vf = vi − at (1)
0.4
ttop = vgi (2)
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Elevation (m)
And through energy conservation we can find hmax :
FIG. 1: Air density as a function of elevation, ρ(h) ≈
mvi 2 −1.23 × 10−4 h + 1.2.
2 = mgh (3)
2
vi
hmax = 2g (4) From that relationship, we can expect the contribution of air
density to overall drag on a given trajectory to be minimal at
Computing this values yield hmax ≈ 3858 meters and high altitudes. This brings us to the other element contribut-
ttop ≈ 28s, thus making tf light = 2 · ttop ≈ 56 s. ing to drag forces: CD (v). We can describe this function as
a mapping between a given vi and a unit-less drag coefficient
These values will be the reference points to gauge how well from a dataset of Mach numbers and drag coefficients.
our simulation sticks to first principles values.
Drag Coefficient vs Velocity
0.40 Data
Polyfit
0.35
Drag Coefficient

INTRODUCING DRAG FORCES

0.30
Let us introduce the drag force equation that will be simu-
0.25
lated on a body as goes through its intended trajectory:
0.20
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Velocity ms
⃗ = F⃗D (hi , vi ) + F⃗W
Ftotal (5)
F⃗D (hi , vi ) = 1
2
2
ρ(h) v CD (⃗v ) A (6) FIG. 2: Drag coefficient as a function of velocity, CD (v) ≈
9.826 × 10−11 v 4 − 4.063 × 10−8 v 3 + 6.465 × 10−6 v 2 −
7.89 × 10−4 v + 0.2666.
From these equations above we can compute the accelera-
tion on the bullet at a given t by:
From the graph above: we can observe a minimum drag
coefficient around 200 m s−1 of 0.20. From this point we can
1 draw the following observations of the two trend before and
⃗ai = F⃗D (hi , vi ) + F⃗W (i) (7) after this velocity:
M
1. From vi greater than 200 m s−1 , the drag coefficient is
In the equations above we have F⃗D (hi , vi ) representing the going to increase at a higher rate. Fortunately for this
drag coefficient as a function of (hi , vi ). Its dependency on hi simulation, our initial velocity is of 275 m s−1 . As the
is controlled by the ρ(h). trajectory evolves, this velocity will decrease.
 2

2. From vi less than 200 m s−1 , the drag coefficient will No Drag Conditions on Bullet Trajectory to Top Elevation
4000
gain magnitude as the velocity winds down to 0 m s−1 . Max Height: 3858.42m
ttop: 28.06s
When the body starts its descent trajectory, this point 3000
will be important to understand terminal velocity con-

Elevation (m)
ditions. 2000

1000

0
INTRODUCING SIMULATION ALGORITHM 0 5 10 15 20 25
Time Step(s)
For this simulation we have decided for an algorithm called
FIG. 3: This trajectory with no drag shows the simulation is reliable
Leapfrog Integration: to provide us with physical insight into this system. We are able to
recover these values by setting the drag coefficient to zero.
ai = 1
M [FD (hi , vi ) + FW (i)] (8)
vi+ 21 = vi + ai ∆t
2 , (9)
xi+1 = xi + vi+ 21 ∆t, (10) As seen in the plot above, ttop as well as hmax meet our
baseline values from standard kinematics. However, once we
vi+1 = vi+ 21 + ai+1 ∆t
2 (11) take into consideration the effect of drag force on the bullet as
it ascends to its maximum height, we find the following trajec-
tory:
For the sake of completeness, at the moment of pro-
gramming this code, we take the gravity to be the negative
direction. For the first stage of flight, the drag force is negative, Drag Conditions on Bullet Trajectory
and for the descent stage, the drag force’s direction is reversed
1000 Max Height: 1082.67m
to positive. This is in keeping with the drag force opposing ttop: 12.37s
the motion of body as it travels the intended trajectory. 800 tflight: 19.43 s
Elevation (m)

600
Using this scheme above we compute the appropriate
400
values for position, velocity, and drag, at a given t to study the
effects of drag on a body. 200
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
These are the initial values used to setup our simulation: Time Step(s)

FIG. 4: This trajectory shows full trajectory of the bullet under forces.
1. M represents the mass of the bullet, 0.013 kilograms. Notice the clear difference of slope between the first stage to the top
height and the second stage on its descent.

2. The bullet is shot with an initial velocity vi of 275 m· s−1

This simulation yields a hmax ≈ 1082.67 m, with a
3. The cross area, A of 1.06 × 10 −4
m .
2 ttop ≈ 12.37s, a tground of 19.43 s, for a total tf light of
31.37s, and a final velocity when the bullet hits the ground of
73.17 ms−1 .
4. dt is the time step used to calculate the values for this
simulation. We used dt = 0.0001 s.

Above Sea Level Condition: Colorado Springs

SIMULATED FLIGHT TRAJECTORIES RESULTS

Earlier in this paper, we described the effects of (h, v) on

Sea Level Condition
describing the flight trajectory of a body By modifying hi from
sea level to Colorado Springs’ 1840 meters, we can find the
First, we start with simulating no drag conditions: following trajectory:
 3

Effect of Drag Force in Flight Trajectory starting from Colorado Springs velocity. At this point of the simulation a final acceleration of
3000 0.17 ms−2 is measured.
2800
Elevation (m)

2600 CONCLUSION
2400
2200 Max Height: 1235.75 m Drag Forces have a significant effect on the kinematics of
2000 ttop: 13.48 s a free body. A toy model was used to describe the effects
tground: 20.44 s
1800 of aerodynamic drag forces. A numerical integrator was de-
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Time Step(s) veloped to calculate its state variables accounting for the ex-
pected contributions of air density due to elevation changes
and drag forces proportional to velocity changes. These simu-
FIG. 5: This trajectory highlights the effect of initial elevation on the
maximum height reached by the bullet, as elevation and velocity have lations have yielded results that indicate the effects of elevation
direct effects on the drag force on the bullet during this trajectory. and velocity changes on the body’s trajectory from standard
non-drag kinematics.
For the Colorado Spring’s simulation, we find the hmax ≈
1235.75 m, ttop ≈ 13.48 s, tground ≈ 20.44 s for a tf light ≈
33.92 s. When the bullet hits the ground, the final velocity
measured is of 79.73 ms−1 .

Terminal Velocity and Drag Force

One feature of this simulation that is of interest is regarding

the terminal velocity condition. To find this value, we have to
bring the equation that describes the acceleration of the body
on its way down from hmax :

1
ai = FD (hi , vi ) − FW (i) (12)
M
As the body descends, we are looking for the moment in
which the drag force and the weight of the body yield a net
acceleration of zero. This is the condition to reach a terminal
velocity. In the plot below the trajectory of descent shows the
evolution of elevation, velocity, and acceleration for the body.

Tracking Descent Trajectory on Colorado Springs Simulation

0 0 0
Descent Acceleration (ms2 )
Descent Velocity (ms )

Descent Velocity (ms )

20 20 2

4
40 40
6
60 60
8
80 80 10
2000 2500 3000 20 30 20 30
Descent Elevation (m) Time(s) Time(s)

FIG. 6: This graph shows the evolution of the body’s kinematics for
the second stage of flight. We observe a final velocity of 79.73 ms−1
at end of the simulation

From observing these plots, we can observe that while the

body’s acceleration is tending to zero, at the moment the body
hits the ground, it has not reached the condition for terminal