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Sharp Transition in the Lift Force of a Fluid Flowing Past Nonsymmetrical Obstacles: Evidence for a Lift Crisis in
Patrick Bot1, Marc Rabaud2, Goulven Thomas1
1Naval Academy Research Institute, IRENAV CC600, 29240 Brest Cedex 9, France.
Abstract:
Bluff bodies moving in a fluid experience a drag force which usually increases with velocity. However in a particular velocity range a drag crisis is observed, i.e., a sharp and strong decrease of the drag force. This counterintuitive result is well characterized for a sphere or a cylinder. Here we show that, for an object breaking the up-down symmetry, a lift crisis is observed simultaneously to the drag crisis. The term lift crisis refers to the fact that at constant incidence the time-averaged transverse force, which remains small or even negative at low velocity, transitions abruptly to large positive values above a critical flow velocity. This transition is characterized from direct force measurements as well as from change in the velocity field around the obstacle.
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