Cylinder Flow in a Wind Tunnel: Pressure Drag

Cylinder flow in a wind tunnel shows how pressure changes around a circular object and how those changes relate to drag. The lesson focuses on cross cylindrical flow, where air moves across a cylinder and the pressure on its surface is measured. It also compares real fluid behavior with the simpler results predicted by ideal...

As fluid flows around an object, such as a cylinder, the pressures and velocities close to the object constantly change. According to inviscid potential flow theory, the pressure distribution around a cylinder is symmetric, not only horizontally but also vertically, upstream and downstream of the cylinder. This results in a zero net drag force.<...