Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In aerodynamics, aerodynamic drag, also known as air resistance, is the fluid drag force that acts on any moving solid body in the direction of the air's freestream flow. [ 22 ] From the body's perspective (near-field approach), the drag results from forces due to pressure distributions over the body surface, symbolized D p r {\displaystyle D ...
The downward force of gravity (F g) equals the restraining force of drag (F d) plus the buoyancy. The net force on the object is zero, and the result is that the velocity of the object remains constant. Terminal velocity is the maximum speed attainable by an object as it falls through a fluid (air is the most common example).
Example: A helium balloon in a moving car. When increasing speed or driving in a curve, the air moves in the opposite direction to the car's acceleration. However, due to buoyancy, the balloon is pushed "out of the way" by the air and will drift in the same direction as the car's acceleration.
There are two causes of aerodynamic force: [1]: §4.10 [2] [3]: 29 the normal force due to the pressure on the surface of the body; the shear force due to the viscosity of the gas, also known as skin friction. Pressure acts normal to the surface, and shear force acts parallel to the surface. Both forces act locally.
Because the air at the surface has near-zero velocity but the air away from the surface is moving, there is a thin boundary layer in which air close to the surface is subjected to a shearing motion. [ 72 ] [ 73 ] The air's viscosity resists the shearing, giving rise to a shear stress at the airfoil's surface called skin friction drag .
Creeping flow past a falling sphere in a fluid (e.g., a droplet of fog falling through the air): streamlines, drag force F d and force by gravity F g. At terminal (or settling) velocity, the excess force F e due to the difference between the weight and buoyancy of the sphere (both caused by gravity [7]) is given by:
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Terrestrial animals must push the solid ground; swimming and flying animals must push against a fluid (either water or air). [4] The effect of forces during locomotion on the design of the skeletal system is also important, as is the interaction between locomotion and muscle physiology, in determining how the structures and effectors of ...