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Experiment No: 2 Roll. No:

STUDTY OF FLOW AROUND AN AEROFOIL

Object: 1) To find coefficient of drag and lift for an aerofoil immersed in air and study their
variation with angle of attack (α)
2) To draw polar diagram for given aerofoil.
Theory: When a body is in flowing fluid it experiences two kinds of forces – shear force due
to shear stress on account of viscosity and pressure force of surrounding fluid. Shear force
acts tangentially and pressure force acts normal to the surface of body. The resulting force
will be in general inclined to the direction of fluid motion. It is resolved in two components
one parallel and the other perpendicular to the direction of motion. The component parallel
the direction of flow is ‘drag force’ and that perpendicular to the direction of flow is called
‘lift force ‘or lift.
The total drag force and lift force can be obtained by knowing distribution of shear stress and
pressure on surface of body. The shear force can be assumed in terms of friction factor which
is fraction of ‘Re’.
The distribution is measured directly and then integrated to obtain resultant pressure force by
placing it in a test section of wind tunnel. Alternatively drag and lift components of force can
be measured using a strain gauge balance in test section.
Drag on Aerofoil:
Aerofoil is a streamlined body in which separation of flow occurs only at the extreme rear
part. As a result, for relatively high values of Reynolds number the major contribution to the
total drag is of the friction drag and contribution of form drag is comparatively very small.
Though in case of aerofoil the drag coefficient CD depends upon Re and shape there is no
sudden drop in its value when the boundary layer changes from laminar to turbulent as the
wake zone is not affected considerably. Since major drag is due to friction, C D will
continually decrease with increase in Reynolds number.
The drag force may be evaluated in terms of CD by following expression.
FD= CD (LC) (ρ U2 / 2)
Lift on an aerofoil:
As aerofoil is a non-rotational body circulation is produced by virtue of ‘starting vortex’
developed at the edge of the aerofoil which ultimately results into lift on aerofoil. This
circulation is then balanced by an equal and opposite circulation. The lift force may be
evaluated in terms of coefficient CL by the following expression.
FL= CL (LC) (ρ U2 / 2)
The point of maximum lift, at angle of attack (α) 10º is called the stall point. For values of α
greater than stalling angle CL goes on decreasing due to separation of flow on top of aerofoil
right from the leading edge.

Apparatus: Wind tunnel, strain gauge balance, aerofoil, digital panel meter

Details of Apparatus: Same as in experiment no.2 (Flow around Cylinder)

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Procedure:
1. Mount the aerofoil in test section on U-frame connected to strain gauge balance.
Angle of inclination or angle of attack (α) = 0
2. Connect strain gauge balance to digital panel meter.
3. Set the angle of attack of aerofoil to required value.
4. Start the motor and blower of wind tunnel and adjust the door opening on d/s side of
test section to give required velocity of flow of air.
5. Measure deflection in manometer at α = o, to calculate velocity of air.
6. Note reading for drag force and lift force on the digital panel meter.
7. Note the forces for different angles of attacks.
8. Repeat the procedure for different velocities. Note room temperature and
corresponding pressure.

Observation Table:
1. Chord length of aerofoil (C) = m
2. Length of aerofoil (L) = m
3. Density of air ρair = 1.208 Kg/m3

Sr. No. Angle of FL (N) FD(N) CL CD CL/CD

Attack α
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

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Result :

Conclusion:

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An Aerofoil

Department Of Civil Engineering