Welcome to the science class. In today’s class, we learn about, ‘ Aerodynamics ‘. Get ready with your why what how questions, for I’m about to answer them. Get ready to dive in deep into the concepts with science glasses on.
Most scientific inventions are based on answers to the 3 w’s: why what, and how. So, what is aerodynamics? Come on discoverer, let’s find out!
The term: aerodynamics
The branch of dynamics that is reliant on the study of the motion of air is called aerodynamics. Fluid dynamics with its subset gas dynamics relies on this field of study. The word aerodynamics owes its origin to the Greek language.
Tracing back the scientific history of aerodynamics:
Right-back in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC, Aristotle, and Archimedes, had their hands work on the fundamental concepts of aerodynamics. The quantitative theory only began when Isaac Newton( the apple guy), in 1726 became the first aerodynamicist. The man who discovered gravity also developed a theory of air resistance. To develop more theories, many people laid their hands on the concepts and proposed various fundamental theories on aerodynamics that are applied in various applications today.
Fundamental forces of flight
If you’re wondering who came up with these four aerodynamic forces of the flight? The answer for that would be Sir Credit Cayley. He put forth the basic forces that act upon a flight. They are namely weight(the weight of the aircraft), thrust(the forward force that propels the aircraft), drag, and lift. (You can check about the various forces of flight in depth through my previous articles. Do check out them for clear understanding).
Weight in Aerodynamics
The force that is required to push the solid body against the force of air is determined by its weight.
Lift in Aerodynamics
Any aircraft that follows the traditional airfoil design, in the air tend to experience an upward lift force.
For more details click here to read about the lift in aerodynamics:
Thrust in Aerodynamics
The lift force acts along with the thrust produced by the engine. The force of its weight and a drag force acts along.
Drag in Aerodynamics
The density which is also known as mass, when increased the inertia increases producing more resistance resulting in drag.
The conservation laws governing aerodynamics:
The four of them are the law of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy.
The law of conservation of mass
The law of conservation of mass puts forth the theory that any mass can never be created, it can either be created or destroyed.
The law of conservation of momentum
When a system is in a closed condition, where matter cannot be exchanged and external forces cannot react, the total momentum is found to be constant.
The law of conservation of energy
While the law of conservation of energy states that in an isolated system, the sum of the energy remains to be constant.
These laws are found to govern the principles of aerodynamics. Navier-stokes equation, Euler’s equation, and Bernoulli’s equation are having their base on these laws.
The significant braches of aerodynamics:
Based on the properties of flow aerodynamics is classified into:
1. Compressible Aerodynamics
If the density varies along a streamlined body according to the aerodynamic theory, then the flow is said to be compressible where the variations in density are taken into account.
2. Incompressible Aerodynamics
The density of an incompressible flow is said to be constant in both time and space. When the rate of flow is smaller than the speed of sound, it is a case of incompressible flow.
Based on the properties of flow speed aerodynamics is classified into:
1. Subsonic flow
The study of fluid motion with a speed much slower than the speed of sound in the flow is called subsonic flow.
2. Transonic flow
The flow that ranges over velocities just below and above the Mach 0.8–1.2 local speed of sound is called transonic flow.
3. Supersonic flow
If the speed of the flow is much higher than the speed of sound then the flow is called supersonic flow.
4. Hypersonic flow
Extremely high supersonic speeds in aerodynamics are called hypersonic flow.
Wanna know about the types of aeronautics and aircraft? Dig in to find out ( Types of aircraft, military aeronautics, and much more). Hope this article made you wear your thinking caps and reading glasses. The era of inventory of life in the air is still in progress. Hope you enjoyed this fun fact time about Aerodynamics. It’s time for more exploration! For more information on aviation and related stuff do check out our blog page at Criss Cross Tamizh. Until then, bye fella science enthusiast!!