S8 and S10: Fluid Mechanics, Hydro dynamics and Aero

dynamics, Problem Solving

Role of Fluid Mechanics in Aero dynamics
Ref: Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, Fifth Edition, John D. Anderson, Jr.
McGraw-Hill Series in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering , ISBN 978-0-07-339810-5 MHID 0-07-339810-1
INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOW IN A DUCT: THE VENTURI

Consider the flow through a duct, such as that sketched in

Figure 3.5. In general, the duct will be a three-dimensional
shape, such as a tube with elliptical or rectangular cross sections
which vary in area from one location to another. The flow
through such a duct is three-dimensional and, strictly speaking,
should be analyzed by means of the full three-dimensional
conservation equations derived in Chapter 2. However, in many
applications, the variation of area A = A(x) is moderate, and for
such cases it is reasonable to assume that the flow-field
properties are uniform across any cross section, and hence vary
only in the x direction. In Figure 3.5, uniform flow is sketched
at station 1, and another but different uniform flow is shown at
station 2. Such flow, where the area changes as a function of x
and all the flow-field variables are assumed to be functions of x
only, that is, A = A(x), V = V (x ), p = p(x ), etc., is called quasi-
one-dimensional flow. Although such flow is only an
approximation of the truly three-dimensional flow in ducts, the
results are sufficiently accurate for many aerodynamic
applications. Such quasi- one-dimensional flow calculations are
frequently used in engineering. They are the subject of this
section.