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Drag coefficients in fluids with Reynolds number approximately 10 4 [1] [2] Shapes are depicted with the same projected frontal area. In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: , or ) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water.
Average full-size passenger cars have a drag area of roughly 8 sq ft (0.74 m 2). Reported drag areas range from the 1999 Honda Insight at 5.1 sq ft (0.47 m 2) to the 2003 Hummer H2 at 26.5 sq ft (2.46 m 2). The drag area of a bicycle (and rider) is also in the range of 6.5–7.5 sq ft (0.60–0.70 m 2). [5]
is the drag coefficient – a dimensionless coefficient related to the object's geometry and taking into account both skin friction and form drag. If the fluid is a liquid, c d {\displaystyle c_{\rm {d}}} depends on the Reynolds number ; if the fluid is a gas, c d {\displaystyle c_{\rm {d}}} depends on both the Reynolds number and the Mach number .
Knowing the terminal velocity, the size and density of the sphere, and the density of the liquid, Stokes' law can be used to calculate the viscosity of the fluid. A series of steel ball bearings of different diameters are normally used in the classic experiment to improve the accuracy of the calculation.
In supersonic flow regimes, wave drag is commonly separated into two components, supersonic lift-dependent wave drag and supersonic volume-dependent wave drag. The closed form solution for the minimum wave drag of a body of revolution with a fixed length was found by Sears and Haack, and is known as the Sears-Haack Distribution .
Dimensionless numbers (or characteristic numbers) have an important role in analyzing the behavior of fluids and their flow as well as in other transport phenomena. [1] They include the Reynolds and the Mach numbers, which describe as ratios the relative magnitude of fluid and physical system characteristics, such as density, viscosity, speed of sound, and flow speed.
The drag curve or drag polar is the relationship between the drag on an aircraft and other variables, such as lift, the coefficient of lift, angle-of-attack or speed. It may be described by an equation or displayed as a graph (sometimes called a "polar plot"). [1] Drag may be expressed as actual drag or the coefficient of drag.
A drag count is a dimensionless unit used by aerospace engineers. 1 drag count is equal to a of 0.0001. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] As the drag forces present on automotive vehicles are smaller than for aircraft, 1 drag count is commonly referred to as 0.0001 of C d {\displaystyle C_{d}} .