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Low Speed Wind Tunnel Testing by Jewel B Barlow William H Rae Alan Pope
Low Speed Wind Tunnel Testing by Jewel B Barlow William H Rae Alan Pope
LABORATORY MANUAL
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1. DRAG MEASUREMENT ON CYLINDER USING WAKE SURVEY METHOD
7.1 OBJECTIVE
To measure the drag force acting on the cylinder using wake survey method.
7.2 THEORY
There is an entirely different way of finding the drag on a cylinder, which depends on the
application of the integral momentum equation to the airflow. This equation is derived in
textbooks on the subject, but again for completeness a brief exposition is given here. Consider
the flow of a fluid along a duct of width 2h past a cylindrical body which spans the duct, so that
the motion is two-dimensional as indicated in Figure 1.
Note the minus sign for the force exerted by the cylinder on the fluid, which is equal and
opposite to the force exerted by the fluid on the cylinder. Forces due to shear stress on the walls
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of the duct and due to the fluid weight are neglected. The momentum flux over the downstream
section is:
(1)
(2)
Equating the net force in the x-direction to the momentum flux out of the control volume
(Reynolds transport theorem) yields:
(3)
(4)
The integral may be made non-dimensional by the substitution y=ηh so that the final result is:
(5)
Equation (5) provides a means to calculate CD from the pressure drop along the duct and the
velocity distribution in the wake. Note that the derivation does not restrict the result to pressure
drag only; the contributions of both pressure and skin friction forces are contained in the force D
which comes into the momentum equation. The skin friction drag on the walls also contributes
to the momentum change and is therefore included in D. It is also worth mentioning that
equation (4) applies only to the case of flow along a duct where the flow is confined between
parallel walls.
7.2.1 Notes:
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6
where A=2lh
Note, ue(y) = velocity distribution in exit plane where pitot tube measurement is taken
Fig 3 setup
iii)
7.3 PROCEDURE
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✓ Measure test section width, 2h, and if not done already, test section height, l = cylinder
length.
✓ In exit plane, use pitot tube to measure Ptotal(y). Use 2mm increments near centre of the
test section, where velocity changes are large, and 5mm increments when pressure
variations become small. Perform measurements across half of the test section (0 ≤ y ≤
h). Record Ptotal and y.
✓ Use Ptotal(y), measured by pitot tube, to obtain ue(y) [using Equation (29)]. Note Pe= Patm
= 0 gage
✓ Use Equation (28) to determine D. Note you will have to integrate using
trapezoidal rule or with a planometer.
✓ Calculate CD and Re using equation (4) and (5). Compare this single data point with the
values obtained from part I.
Fan Tunnel Tunnel Tunnel Reynol Lift L Drag D Wake survey rake
speed head pressur velocit ds (N) (N) pressures(mm and
(%) (mm) e (Pa) y(m/s) number Pa)
➢ PC running software
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7.6 RESULTS
ue(y) is velocity at y]
➢ Describe and perform graphical or numerical (i.e. with spreadsheet) integration of
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➢ Derive
➢ On the original plot of Re vs. CD, from Method I, clearly plot the single (CD, Re) data
point obtained by the wake survey
7.7 CONCLUSIONS