INTRO

A solid body that is exposed to flow of a viscous fluid is also affected by a flow-induced
force. This force is the resultant of the normal and shear forces that acts locally on the body
surface. The normal surface force is completely dominated by pressure action, the shear
forces are due to viscous stresses only, and are normally referred to as friction forces.
Consider a wing-like body of large width in relation to its chord, see Fig. 1. The flow around
this body can be considered to be essentially two-dimensional.

Figure 1: Forces on an immersed body, two-dimensional flow

.
The force vector F is divided into two components, the drag D, which acts in the flow
direction, and the lift L, which acts normal to the flow. The drag itself is divided into pressure
or form drag and friction drag. Form drag is due to the pressure forces acting on the surface
(static pressure p); the friction drag is due the surface viscous shearing (frictional) forces
(wall shear stress ). The absolute value of F is normally expressed using a dimensionless
coefficient C, defined as

2
=
2

V Oncoming free stream velocity

A Characteristic Area

Density of fluid

For geometrically similar bodies and for incompressible flows without influences of free
surface effects we have the Reynolds similarity law:

Flows around geometrically similar bodies are similar for equal Reynolds numbers
The Reynolds number, Re, is dimensionless and is defined as:

= =

V Characteristic velocity

Characteristic length

Dynamic viscosity

- Kinematic viscosity

For a certain geometrical flow situation, the Reynolds similarity law (or rule) means that the
dimensionless coefficient C only is a function of the Reynolds number and a dimensionless
time but only if the prerequisites are fulfilled. Thus, the following applies for the time-
averaged force, F in a stationary flow situation:

= ()

If the a flow force on a body is to be determined from experiments, the Reynolds similarity
law means that it is not necessary to use the same velocity, body size, fluid medium, fluid
temperature, etc. as in the actual flow situation. If only the Reynolds number is the same, or if
the Reynolds number is within an interval where C is a constant, the force from the scaled
(model) situation can be transferred directly to determine the force on the actual body (full-
scale, prototype). For instance, it is possible to transfer results from experiments in air to full-
scale water conditions, but only if Reynolds number are equal.

The drag component caused by normal forces on the body, the form drag , and the friction
drag due to tangential forces , sum up to the total drag,

= +

Consider Fig. 1 where is the angle between the surface normal n, at the surface element dA,
and the oncoming free stream velocity (of magnitude V). The pressure drag Dp then is

To continue theory open LAB1 PM-ENGLISH