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Related Concept Videos

Drag01:23

Drag

631
Drag is a resistive force opposing an object’s motion through a fluid, resulting from surface pressure and shear forces. It comprises two components: a perpendicular one from pressure and a tangential one from shear stress. Accurate drag calculations use pressure and wall shear stress distributions, often determined through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) or wind tunnel testing. The drag coefficient, a dimensionless measure, depends on factors like shape, Reynolds number, Mach number,...
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Drag Force and Terminal Speed01:18

Drag Force and Terminal Speed

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An interesting force in everyday life is the force of drag on an object when it is moving in a fluid. Like friction, the drag force always opposes the motion of an object. Unlike simple friction, the drag force is proportional to some function of the velocity of the object in that fluid. This functionality is complicated and depends upon the shape of the object, its size, its velocity, and the fluid it is in. For most large objects, such as cyclists, cars, and baseballs, that are not moving too...
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Lift01:23

Lift

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Lift is a fundamental aerodynamic force that acts perpendicular to the direction of airflow. It plays a central role in achieving and sustaining flight and in stabilizing various vehicles. Lift primarily originates from pressure differences created across surfaces, such as an airfoil. A lower pressure region forms above the wing, while a higher pressure region forms below it, generating an upward force. This differential results from the shape and orientation of the airfoil, enabling the wing...
739
Accelerating Fluids01:17

Accelerating Fluids

2.2K
When a fluid is in constant acceleration, the pressure and buoyant force equations are modified. Suppose a beaker is placed in an elevator accelerating upward with a constant acceleration, a. In the beaker, assume there is a thin cylinder of height h with an infinitesimal cross-sectional area, ΔS.
The motion of the liquid within this infinitesimal cylinder is considered to obtain the pressure difference. Three vertical forces act on this liquid:
2.2K
General External Flow Characteristics01:26

General External Flow Characteristics

617
The study of external flow is essential for creating structures and objects that interact efficiently and safely with moving fluids, such as air or water. When a body is immersed in a flowing fluid, it experiences two primary forces: drag, which opposes motion along the flow direction, and lift, which acts perpendicular to the flow. The shape, size, and orientation of the object influence these forces.Streamlined and Blunt Bodies in External FlowObjects in fluid flow are classified as...
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Hydrostatic Pressure Force on a Plane Surface01:04

Hydrostatic Pressure Force on a Plane Surface

3.1K
When a plane surface is submerged in a fluid, hydrostatic forces develop on the surface due to the fluid's pressure. For horizontal surfaces, the pressure exerted by the fluid is uniform because the depth remains constant. The resultant force is determined by the pressure at the given depth multiplied by the area of the surface, and it acts through the centroid of the surface. For vertical surfaces, the pressure varies with depth, increasing as the distance from the fluid's free surface...
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Parametric Optimization Design Method for Friction Plates of Hydro-Viscous Clutches
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Smart morphable surfaces for aerodynamic drag control.

Denis Terwagne1, Miha Brojan, Pedro M Reis

  • 1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|June 24, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Smart Morphable Surfaces can reduce aerodynamic drag on objects by up to 50% by changing their surface patterns. This technology offers tunable drag reduction for various flow conditions.

Keywords:
drag reductionpatterningrapid prototypingsmart surfaceswrinkling

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Area of Science:

  • Fluid dynamics
  • Materials science
  • Surface engineering

Background:

  • Aerodynamic drag significantly impacts vehicle efficiency and performance.
  • Controlling surface topography offers a potential method for drag reduction.
  • Existing methods for drag reduction are often fixed or complex.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce Smart Morphable Surfaces (SMS) for switchable and tunable aerodynamic drag reduction.
  • To demonstrate the generation and actuation of controllable surface topographies.
  • To quantify the drag reduction achievable with SMS on bluff bodies.

Main Methods:

  • Generating custom surface topographies through controlled wrinkling instability on curved substrates.
  • Utilizing pneumatic actuation to dynamically alter surface patterns.
  • Measuring drag coefficients on spherical samples under various flow conditions.

Main Results:

  • SMS successfully created golf ball-like dimple patterns on demand.
  • Pneumatic actuation allowed for real-time control of surface morphology.
  • Drag coefficients were reduced by up to a factor of two (50%) across tested flow conditions.

Conclusions:

  • Smart Morphable Surfaces provide an effective and tunable method for aerodynamic drag reduction.
  • The technology enables dynamic control over bluff body aerodynamics.
  • This approach has potential applications in enhancing the efficiency of various vehicles and objects.