WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT

Students
ALEKSEI ALEKSEEV
XU CHENG
MARTINUS PUTRA WIDJAJA

Professors
A. DUCOIN

EMSHIP
EUROPEAN MASTERS COURSE
IN INTEGRATED ADVANCED SHIP DESIGN
COLE CENTRALE DE NANTES
2015

WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

LIST OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. 2
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ 2
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 3
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ....................................................................................... 4
WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT ......................................................................................... 7
RESULTS & DISCUSSION ................................................................................................. 9
JEAN D'ALEMBERT PARADOX ..................................................................................... 10
REFERENCE ..................................................................................................................... 12
APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................ 12

LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1. TOP VIEW OF THE THEORETICAL SKETCH ........................................................................................... 4
FIGURE 2. PITOT TUBE SCHEMA......................................................................................................................... 7
FIGURE 3. CP VS SIN AT 2 DIFFERENT VELOCITY .............................................................................................. 9
FIGURE 4. CP VS ANGLE (DEG) AT DIFFERENT VELOCITIES ........................................................................... 10
FIGURE 5. PRESSURE DRAG COEFFICIENT BASED ON BOUNDARY LAYER THEORY .............................................. 11

LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1. GENERAL PARTICULARS OF THE FLUID ................................................................................................ 7
TABLE 2. VELOCITY RANGE OF THE E XPERIMENT & T ABLE 3. SELECTED VELOCITY OF THE EXPERIMENT ............ 7
TABLE 4. PRESSURE DRAG COEFFICIENT RESULTS BY DIFFERENT METHOD ........................................................ 9
TABLE 5. RESULTS OF THE CALCULATED EXPERIMENTAL DATA ....................................................................... 12

EMSHIP 5th COHORT- COLE CENTRALE DE NANTES

WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

INTRODUCTION
In this experiment, a study of the pressure distribution around a cylinder will be conducted.
This pressure will occur due to the fluid movement around the cylinder and air will be the
fluid of the experiment. One small wind tunnel will provide a constant air flow rate on the
cylinder. Pitot and Prandtl tube will be used to calculate the wind velocity and the pressure on
the cylinder body. The differential manometers will give the information of pressure
difference from both tubes in mmCE which should be modified in order to get the correct
dimension. All of the information above is needed for calculating the drag coefficient which
depend on the flow velocity, length of the body, and the physical properties of the fluids
(density and viscosity). Finally, the total drag coefficient will be compared with the other
experimental data and the comparison between real flow motions and perfect potential flow
theory will be analyzed in order to have a deeper understanding of the fluid mechanics.

Nomenclature
g

Gravity Acceleration (m/s2)

Dynamic Viscosity (kg/ms)

Air Density (Kg/m3)

Kinematic Viscosity (m2/s)

eau

Water Density (Kg/m3)

Cylinder's Diameter (m)

Drag Force

Incident's Angle (0)

Section of the Body (m2)

Cx/Cp

Local Pressure Coefficient

Velocity in m/s2

Re

Reynold's Number

Pressure in Pascal

EMSHIP 5th COHORT- COLE CENTRALE DE NANTES

WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Figure 1. Top View of the Theoretical Sketch

Calculation of the pressure drag coefficient Cxp for a cylinder

The total force exerted by a fluid on a body can be divided in :

A component parallel to the incident flow direction

A lift component perpendicular to the incident flow direction

These forces are due to the action of pressure and viscosity. The total force due to the fluid
can be written under the following form :

Where the stress vector is

with :

For a newtonian fluid

The normal unit ( ) directed to the outer of cylinder (

For an incompressible fluid, the relation between stresses and strains can be written as :

Where P is the pressure at the point M of the cylinder.

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WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

If we consider the contribution of pressure :

In a polar frame with

, we have for horizontal component ( on

):

Where R is the radius of the cylinder and l is the length

We define the pressure drag coefficient as
For the cylinder, the reference surface is S = Dl, then we can write :

By using the Bernoulli theorem between the infinite upstream and the stagnation point :

With a velocity equal to zero at the stagnation (VA=0), we obtain :

Finally :

Then :

By measuring the local pressure coefficient Cp around the cylinder (on a perimeter) we can
obtain the pressure drag coefficient Cxp by doing the numerical integration or with a
planimeter.

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WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

Calculation of local pressure coefficient Cp of a cylinder with perfect fluid flow theory
We assume that the studied flow is a 2D flow. In perfect fluid flow theory, the flow around a
cylinder can be modelized by using kinematics of :

An uniform flow :

A dipole located at the origin of the frame :

Total velocity of the flow can be written as:

Boundary conditions must be verified :

At infinity ( r =), we must have:

On the cylinder ( r = R ), velocity must be tangential to the body

that always verified

That implies
Finally :

Or :

By using Bernouli on a streamline between infinity and stagnation point A :

By using Bernouli on a streamline between infinity and stagnation point M :

The local pressure coefficient becomes :

EMSHIP 5th COHORT- COLE CENTRALE DE NANTES

WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT

Inside the wind tunnel there is a one cylinder that could be rotated around its vertical axis
with the diameter as 30 mm. This cylinder has a pressure probe at point M which will define
the pressure difference for each angle of rotation on its vertical axis. In order to calculate this
pressure difference, two differential manometers is being used to read the air velocity and the
pressure difference on the cylinder surface, in terms of the height of the fluid inside the
manometer which is in this case is the water (in mmCE).
The figure 2 below will allow us to understand the relation between pressure and the velocity
by using the pitot-static tube. The stagnation pressure is the summation between static and
dynamic pressure, it could be explained as the equation below,

The relation for the static fluid will be,

By knowing this relation above, the height of

Figure 2. Pitot Tube Schema

manometer which represent the air velocity between 20 and 27 m/s could be determined.
While the water and air density could be determined by referring to the table inside the
laboratory by reading the lab. temperature.
Table 1. General Particulars of the Fluid

Air Density (kg/m3)

1.2005
Water Density (kg/m3)
997.1

Gravity (m/s2)
9.81
Diameter (m)
0.03

Table 2. Velocity Range of the Experiment

Kin. Viscosity (m2/s)

8.930E-07
Dynamic Viscosity (kg/m s)
8.900E-04

Table 3. Selected Velocity of the Experiment

Velocity
(m/s)

Manometer
Height (mm CE)

Velocity
(m/s)

Manometer
Height (mm CE)

20
27

24.576
44.789

22.462
25.515

31
40

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WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

EXPERIMENTAL FLOW CHART

START

Calculate the max. and min. h (mmCE)

Turn the cylinder until the hollow part (M) is

located at the upstream side of the flow

Turn on the power and adjust the speed until

reach the height of upper manometer as calculated

Read and write down the height of lower manometer

Rotate the cylinder as per counter

from 0 to 360 with increment of 10

POSITIVE

Lower
Manometer
Height

Change the flow between the

connection of the lower manometer

NEGATIVE

Calculate the Cp Experimental and

Theoretical by using Numerical Integration

Draw Cp vs and Cp vs Sin graph and adjust

the until the graph looks symmetrical

Calculate the Cp by using planimeter on Cp vs

Sin graph and compare the results

END

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WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

Figure 3. Cp vs Sin at 2 Different Velocity

After writing all the data from the manometer, the relation between Cp and Sin could be
shown as in figure 3. As we know that the integration of local pressure coefficient (Cp) value
on Sin will give the information of the pressure drag coefficient. This integration shall be
done in two method by using the numerical integration and by using a planimeter tool as can
be seen beside figure 3. When using this tool, we need to print out the corresponding graph
and check how much 1 by 1 area on the graph represent. Afterwards, we just need to follow
the shape of the graph by using the tip of the needle on the tool and check the results. Do not
forget to add 0.1 to the experiment calculation of Cxp in order to represent the contribution of
the viscosity. The result of the calculation could be seen in table 4 below.
Table 4. Pressure Drag Coefficient Results by Different Method

Item
Numerical Planimeter
B.L Theory I.F Theory
Cxp (22.462m/s)
1.16
1.16
1.2
0
Cxp (25.515m/s)
1.14
1.187
1.2
As can be seen that the results from numerical and planimeter method has the same order of
magnitude. And after the results being added with 0.1 value, it will gives a correct relation
with the reference which had been done by Schlichting as can be seen in figure 5. While on
the other hand, the theoretical integration resulting a zero value which will be discussed in the
following parts.

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WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

JEAN D'ALEMBERT PARADOX

" With the irrotational flow approximation, the aerodynamic drag force on any nonlifting
body of any shape immersed in a uniform stream is zero"
This statement above was expressed by Jean-le-Rond d'Alembert (1717-1783) in 1752. This
conducted experiment being done in order to have a better understanding of the effect on the
fluid assumption to solve the physical problems. As can be seen in figure 4 below, the
theoretical result is symmetrical between the front and the rear part of the cylinder, which
means that there will be no net pressure drag on the cylinder. By using the irrotational flow
approximation, the pressure fully recovers at the rear stagnation point to become the same as
in front stagnation point. The net aerodynamic drag on the cylinder by using irrotational flow
assumption will become zero, since the no slip condition on the cylinder body could not be
satisfied when applying the irrotational flow assumption

Figure 4. Cp vs Angle (Deg) at Different Velocities

The speed of the flow will decelerated to zero speed at the stagnation point and will become
twice of the free-stream velocity at the very top of the cylinder (90 0). Zero pressure point
could be seen when Cp=0 (210 & 1310), at this point the pressure acting normal to the body
surface is the same, even though the body moves faster through the fluid. The theoretical
approximation seems to have a same shape below 750 but afterwards it does not work at all.
This happened due to the real flow which has a significantly less pressure on the back surface

10

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WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

than that on the front. This will induced a pressure drag and also the flow separation and as
can be seen from the graph that the separation angle for this cylinder is around 910.

Figure 5. Pressure Drag Coefficient based on Boundary Layer Theory

11

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WIND TUNNEL EXPERIMENT 2015

REFERENCE
[1] Study of pressure Distribution on a cylinder Guidance. ECN,2015
[2] Cengel, Yunus A. ,Cimbala John M. Fluid Mechanics : Fundamental and Applications,
McGraw-Hill Companies. 2006

APPENDIX
Table 5. Results of the Calculated Experimental Data
sin(_ modif)

modif

-0.156
-0.326
-0.485
-0.629
-0.755
-0.857
-0.934
-0.982
-1.000
-0.988
-0.946
-0.875
-0.777
-0.656
-0.515
-0.358
-0.191
-0.017
0.156
0.326
0.485
0.629
0.755
0.857
0.934
0.982
1.000
0.988
0.946
0.875
0.777
0.656
0.515
0.358
0.191
0.017
-0.156

351.000
341.000
331.000
321.000
311.000
301.000
291.000
281.000
271.000
261.000
251.000
241.000
231.000
221.000
211.000
201.000
191.000
181.000
171.000
161.000
151.000
141.000
131.000
121.000
111.000
101.000
91.000
81.000
71.000
61.000
51.000
41.000
31.000
21.000
11.000
1.000
-9.000

12

h manometer
(22.462 m/s)
28.500
23.550
11.500
-4.500
-18.500
-30.500
-35.500
-33.000
-29.500
-29.500
-30.000
-30.500
-31.500
-32.500
-34.000
-34.000
-34.500
-35.000
-35.000
-35.000
-34.000
-33.000
-32.000
-31.000
-30.500
-30.000
-29.500
-31.000
-35.000
-33.000
-23.500
-10.000
5.500
19.500
28.500
32.000
30.500

h manometer
(25.515 m/s)
36.000
25.200
-8.400
-11.100
-29.000
-41.500
-44.200
-38.000
-37.300
-38.800
-38.100
-39.300
-40.000
-42.700
-42.200
-43.000
-43.000
-42.900
-42.500
-42.200
-41.500
-40.300
-39.300
-38.200
-37.700
-36.900
-36.800
-41.500
-44.300
-36.800
-21.200
2.500
16.000
30.700
39.300
40.600
38.600

Cp
(22.462 m/s)
0.919
0.760
0.371
-0.145
-0.597
-0.984
-1.145
-1.065
-0.952
-0.952
-0.968
-0.984
-1.016
-1.048
-1.097
-1.097
-1.113
-1.129
-1.129
-1.129
-1.097
-1.065
-1.032
-1.000
-0.984
-0.968
-0.952
-1.000
-1.129
-1.065
-0.758
-0.323
0.177
0.629
0.919
1.032
0.984

Cp
Cp
(25.515 m/s) (Theory)
0.900
1.000
0.630
0.879
0.210
0.532
-0.278
0.000
-0.725
-0.653
-1.038
-1.347
-1.105
-2.000
-0.950
-2.532
-0.933
-2.879
-0.970
-3.000
-0.953
-2.879
-0.983
-2.532
-1.000
-2.000
-1.068
-1.347
-1.055
-0.653
-1.075
0.000
-1.075
0.532
-1.073
0.879
-1.063
1.000
-1.055
0.879
-1.038
0.532
-1.008
0.000
-0.983
-0.653
-0.955
-1.347
-0.943
-2.000
-0.923
-2.532
-0.920
-2.879
-1.038
-3.000
-1.108
-2.879
-0.920
-2.532
-0.530
-2.000
-0.063
-1.347
0.400
-0.653
0.768
0.000
0.983
0.532
1.015
0.879
0.965
1.000

Integration
Cp 31
-0.146
-0.095
-0.018
0.053
0.097
0.106
0.081
0.045
0.014
-0.015
-0.044
-0.074
-0.103
-0.132
-0.157
-0.175
-0.189
-0.196
-0.196
-0.187
-0.171
-0.150
-0.125
-0.099
-0.072
-0.043
-0.015
0.016
0.049
0.067
0.054
0.009
-0.058
-0.122
-0.164
-0.175
0.000

Integration
Cp 40
-0.133
-0.071
0.005
0.072
0.109
0.107
0.076
0.042
0.014
-0.015
-0.044
-0.073
-0.103
-0.131
-0.152
-0.170
-0.181
-0.185
-0.184
-0.176
-0.162
-0.142
-0.119
-0.095
-0.069
-0.042
-0.015
0.016
0.046
0.053
0.030
-0.021
-0.083
-0.138
-0.168
-0.172
0.000

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Integration
Theoretical
-0.163
-0.119
-0.042
0.047
0.123
0.167
0.167
0.122
0.045
-0.045
-0.122
-0.167
-0.167
-0.123
-0.047
0.042
0.119
0.163
0.163
0.119
0.042
-0.047
-0.123
-0.167
-0.167
-0.122
-0.045
0.045
0.122
0.167
0.167
0.123
0.047
-0.042
-0.119
-0.163
0.000