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Drag coefficients in fluids with Reynolds number approximately 10 4 [1] [2] Shapes are depicted with the same projected frontal area. In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: , or ) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water.
The equation is precise – it simply provides the definition of (drag coefficient), which varies with the Reynolds number and is found by experiment. Of particular importance is the u 2 {\displaystyle u^{2}} dependence on flow velocity, meaning that fluid drag increases with the square of flow velocity.
For an object with well-defined fixed separation points, like a circular disk with its plane normal to the flow direction, the drag coefficient is constant for Re > 3,500. [17] The further the drag coefficient C d is, in general, a function of the orientation of the flow with respect to the object (apart from symmetrical objects like a sphere).
The force F required to overcome drag is calculated with the drag equation: = Therefore: = Where the drag coefficient and reference area have been collapsed into the drag area term. This allows direct estimation of the drag force at a given speed for any vehicle for which only the drag area is known and therefore easier comparison.
Note the minus sign in the equation, the drag force points in the opposite direction to the relative velocity: drag opposes the motion. Stokes' law makes the following assumptions for the behavior of a particle in a fluid: Laminar flow; No inertial effects (zero Reynolds number) Spherical particles; Homogeneous (uniform in composition) material
The Morison equation contains two empirical hydrodynamic coefficients—an inertia coefficient and a drag coefficient—which are determined from experimental data. As shown by dimensional analysis and in experiments by Sarpkaya, these coefficients depend in general on the Keulegan–Carpenter number , Reynolds number and surface roughness .
The drag area is usually expressed as a product , where is a representative area of the object, and is the drag coefficient, which represents what shape it has and how streamlined it is. The drag coefficient plays a role in Reynold's drag equation,
is the drag coefficient, and V {\displaystyle V} is the characteristic velocity (taken as terminal velocity, V t {\displaystyle V_{t}} ). Substitution of equations ( 2 – 4 ) in equation ( 1 ) and solving for terminal velocity, V t {\displaystyle V_{t}} to yield the following expression