Fluid Dynamics and Wind Tunnels
Definition of Aerodynamics: a branch of dynamics that deals with the motion of air and other gaseous fluids and with the forces acting on bodies in motion relative to such fluids http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aerodynamics Other: aerios, concerning the air, and dynamis, which means force.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/bga.html
Bernoulli's Principle: • The relationship between the velocity and pressure exerted by a moving liquid • States that for an inviscid flow, an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy. • states that the faster a fluid (such as air or water) flows over a surface, the less pressure the fluid exerts on that surface.
How it affects cars
Wind tunnels for good aerodynamcs.
The goal of the vehicle designer is to minimize this effect on a vehicle. There are a few ways to do this.
1) Minimize the total frontal area of the vehicle. Obviously a dump truck has to push more air out of the way than a motorcycle.
2) Make the air move more easily over the vehicle. A vehicle that is 'blocky' in shape (like a jeep) won't let the air flow around it as easily as, say, a corvette. Also, ever see a wide piece of plastic sticking down under a car, up front, just before the engine? That's calles an air dam and is used to deflect air away from the underside of a vehicle. All the pipes, tubes, and other things under a car cause a lot of drag. The goal is to get the car to move through the air rather than pushing it out of the way.
Engineers use wind tunnels to fine tune the body design.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/bga.html
Bernoulli's Principle: • The relationship between the velocity and pressure exerted by a moving liquid • States that for an inviscid flow, an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy. • states that the faster a fluid (such as air or water) flows over a surface, the less pressure the fluid exerts on that surface.
How it affects cars
Wind tunnels for good aerodynamcs.
The goal of the vehicle designer is to minimize this effect on a vehicle. There are a few ways to do this.
1) Minimize the total frontal area of the vehicle. Obviously a dump truck has to push more air out of the way than a motorcycle.
2) Make the air move more easily over the vehicle. A vehicle that is 'blocky' in shape (like a jeep) won't let the air flow around it as easily as, say, a corvette. Also, ever see a wide piece of plastic sticking down under a car, up front, just before the engine? That's calles an air dam and is used to deflect air away from the underside of a vehicle. All the pipes, tubes, and other things under a car cause a lot of drag. The goal is to get the car to move through the air rather than pushing it out of the way.
Engineers use wind tunnels to fine tune the body design.