3.

Aerodynamic characteristics/ aim

Build upon the Foundation material, to achieve an understanding

of the fundamental characteristics of aerodynamics
• Recognise the fundamental stresses of normal pressure force &
tangential pressure force.
• Study how pressures are distributed around immersed bodies.
• Recognise the importance of viscosity to the flow field about a
body.
• Non-dimensional form of Aerodynamic characteristics - the simple
but powerful tool
• Show examples of flow fields on simple bluff bodies &
streamlined bodies.
Drag of varying shaped bodies & Reynolds number effects
• Characteristics of Wings related to airflow development with
viscous effects
2D aerofoil section characteristics at low speed
3D (high Aspect Ratio) wing characteristics at low speed.
 3. Aerodynamic characteristics/ pressure
distribution around a body

- The flow about a body is disturbed by the presence of the body.

The local velocity & pressure fields are simultaneously changed by
this disturbance.
- Fluid pressure is a scalar quantity - with no preferred direction or
vector.
- Viscous shear stresses accumulate to produce a drag force as
well as a (generally small) moment contribution.
- For a moving vehicle in flight, there is a distribution of the
external air pressure and friction forces acting on the vehicle.
- Forces and moments arising from the mathematical integration of
pressure distribution and surface friction stress, have a defined
direction and are, therefore, vector quantities.
- Pressure distributions and/or forces and moment can be found
from:
• Using simple relationships, for approximated flowfields and using
equations, containing approximations
• Tests, normally in a wind tunnel
• Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
 4. Boundary layer/ flat plate
The shear layer is commonly called the
‘boundary layer’ since the viscous action
is generally confined to the boundary of
surfaces being studied.
Boundary layers are generally thin,
relative to dimensions such as
downstream distance.
Turbulence is a 3 dimensional stochastic
eddy phenomenon which breaks out
naturally within a shear layer as it
develops in the downstream direction.
 4. Boundary layer/ flat plate
Transition from a laminar to a turbulent
layer is a natural process, primarily
dependent upon local Reynolds number
but is also influenced by surface
conditions.

Extremely close to the surface, the

eddies in a turbulent layer are damped
out - this part of the layer is referred to
as the laminar sub-layer.
 4. Boundary layer/ flat plate

Turbulent boundary layer thickness grows

faster than laminar layer thickness, with
increasing downstream distance.

The exact height of a shear layer is not exactly

determinate so various definitions are used
which have physical significance eg. u =
0.99U, displacement thickness, momentum
thickness, energy thickness.
 4. Boundary layer/ flat plate
There are numerous semi-empirical
relationships for estimating boundary layer
thickness & skin friction levels, for both
laminar & turbulent shear layers. These
produce correlations in terms of local flow
Reynolds number

The shear layer is the medium of transport for

heat transfer between the surface & outer
flow. With increasing speed, skin friction will
cause temperature to rise at the surface.

This becomes increasingly important at

supersonic speeds and above.
 4. Boundary layer/ flat plate
Comparison between
Laminar and turbulent
flow profile in both
absolute and normalised
forms
 4. Boundary layer/ flat plate: effect of Re

Friction coeff on a Flat

Plate Boundary Layer
With Reynolds number
 4. Boundary layer/ body
Without viscosity, no
viscous stresses would
occur & the flow streamlines
would close at the trailing
edge.
There would be no skin
friction drag ( since no
viscosity).
There would be no net
imbalance of normal
pressure from front to rear of
the body, thus no pressure
drag component could arise.
With viscosity, shear stresses arise at the
maximum body thickness, causing the boundary
layer to separate from the surface. The
separation point depends on the rising pressure
rate in the boundary layer, the Reynolds number
& surface quality.
The net pressure imbalance from front to rear,
gives the boundary layer (b.l.) normal pressure
drag (historically called form drag).Also there is
skin friction drag.
drag = skin friction drag + b.l. normal
pressure drag.
 4. Boundary layer/ body
Streamlined bodies produce
small wake regions, hence a
low BL normal pressure drag.
Skin friction drag is significant
but can be moderated by the
choice of body cross section to
control its development.
Overall profile drag is low or
not high.
Bluff shaped bodies produce
extensive wake regions, hence
appreciable BL normal pressure
drag.
Skin friction drag can be relatively
low, depending upon the surface
area
exposed to a conventional
boundary layer flow.
Overall profile drag is high
 4. Boundary layer/ cylinder: effect of Re

At low Reynolds numbers (Re < 0,5)the inertial forces are negligible compared to
the viscous forces and the streamlines come together behind the cylinder.
At Reynolds number 2 to 30 a wake is formed behind the cylinder but the
streamlines come together behind the cylinder. Eddies form which rotate in
opposite direction.
At Reynolds numbers 40 to 70 the eddies elongates and wake flow instability
occurs. Eddies form and break off each side of the cylinder alternately.
At higher levels (Re > 90 ) the eddies form vortices downstream of the cylinder.
There are a design problem for tall chimneys, bridges, etc. This arrangement of
vortex pattern is known as a Karman vortex.

The drag coefficient Cd reaches about 0,9 at Re = 2000. At an Re value of about 20

x 105 the laminar boundary layer becomes turbulent before separation. The
turbulent boundary layer has higher kinetic energy than the laminar based layer and
is better able to withstand the adverse pressure gradient. As the Reynolds number
rises there is a consequent increase in the drag coefficient
4. Boundary layer/ effect of Re
Cylinder

streamline
Flat Plate
4. Boundary layer/ effect of Re
Circular Disk

Sphere
 4. Boundary layer/ streamlined body

Stagnation point
Relative negative and positive pressure
Separation
Wake
 4. Boundary layer/ streamlined body
Development of an attached flow boundary layer from the leading edge
of an aerofoil
 4. Boundary layer/ streamlined body
Flow separation due to an adverse pressure gradient
 4. Boundary layer/ Re & similarity
- At low Mach numbers, two flows are geometrically & dynamically similar if the Reynolds
numbers are the same. At high Mach number, both Re and M should be the same.

Example 1
For a given shape of body, Cd for a 10m length body at 100m/s freestream flow speed, will
be the same as Cd for a 100m length body at 10 m/s.

Example 2
If boundary layer transition (turbulent to laminar flow) occurs 2m from the leading edge of
a flat plate aligned with a 50m/s freestream flow, then in a 25 m/s flow the transition would
occur 4m from the leading edge.

- With increasing speed, in aircraft work, as compressibility effects increase, similarity

requires that computations & wind tunnel work uses a Mach number equal to that of the
application.
- For wind tunnel tests, there are engineering problems involved with simultaneously
maintaining both Reynolds number & Mach number at full scale values.
- Much theoretical work can be done by assuming inviscid flow (no viscous effects) &
incompressible conditions (often confusingly denoted zero Mach number) & then
correcting to account for ‘real fluid’ effects. The experience & skill of the Aerodynamicist
is knowing when & how much correction is needed.
 4. Boundary layer/ effect of Re

Example 3:
Air is travelling with the speed of 100 m/s at sea level
where the kinematic viscosity is 1.1924E-5. Find
Dynamic pressure and Dynamic viscosity.

Answer to example 3:
Pd=q=0.5*Ro*U2= 0.5*1.225*100*100=
6.125E03 Pascal
mu= 1.1924E-5*1.225= 1.4607E-5 m2/s
 4. Boundary layer/ effect of Re

Example 4:
For a circular wire (d=2.5mm, l=1m) and a smooth
single sided flat surface (w=l=1m) experience air
flow of U=100 m/s, find body form Drag.
 4. Boundary layer/ effect of Re
Example 4 solution
5. Introduction to flight

UAVs = Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

μAVs = Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs)
LTAs = Lighter than Air Vehicles
HPVs = Human Powered Vehicles