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Written by Nathan Lityo Design and Edit by Rebecca Sopacua

Aerodynamics, the study of how gas molecules interact with moving bodies, primarily concerned with the forces of drag and lift, which are caused by air passing over and around solid bodies. If you would like to know more about aerodynamics, feel free to read this concise and well-designed article created by Nathan Lityo and Rebecca Sopacua.

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The Physics Society
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92 views3 pages

Written by Nathan Lityo Design and Edit by Rebecca Sopacua

Aerodynamics, the study of how gas molecules interact with moving bodies, primarily concerned with the forces of drag and lift, which are caused by air passing over and around solid bodies. If you would like to know more about aerodynamics, feel free to read this concise and well-designed article created by Nathan Lityo and Rebecca Sopacua.

Uploaded by

The Physics Society
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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AERODYNAMICS

AERODYNAMICS
AERODYNAMICS
AERODYNAMICS
AERODYNAMICS
AERODYNAMICS
AERODYNAMICS
AERODYNAMICS
AERODYNAMICS
AERODYNAMICS
Written by Nathan Lityo
Design and edit by Rebecca Sopacua
Spoilers, diffusers, and splitters are just some of the
many things of how a car takes advantage of
aerodynamics. When a car is speeding through the
highway, not only is there friction between the
ground and the wheels so the car grips to the ground,
but also air resistance which slows down cars as they
go faster. Aerodynamics slows down the car because
it is almost like swimming in endless air ocean that
slows it down. Engineers resolve this problem by
making cars not boxy shaped, instead making it more
streamlined, so that the car would slice through the
air but not push it out resulting it to achieve higher
efficiency and speed.

If we take a look at a wind tunnel, boxy shapes will leave a small twirl of air in the back as well as
in the front. This air is then called turbulence, while the streamline air is called laminar. When
there is more turbulent air around the shape-- meaning that the drag coefficient is higher than the
shape, it has less turbulent air around it. A great example of a low drag shape is a teardrop. It has a
drag coefficient of 0.05, due to the curved shape it has in the first part. In the end, it has a slope
that guides the air, creating a Coanda effect this slope that leaves a small gap for any air to create
turbulent air flow.

TURBULENT AIR CREATES DRAG IN THE BACK OF A BOXY CAR


Written by Nathan Lityo
Design and edit by Rebecca Sopacua
The designers of this car decided to replicate
the shape of a teardrop, so that it has barely any
drag and barely any turbulence in the back. As
you can see closely, the flow of the smoke is
still in laminar flow until the back of the car.

In flying applications, just being aerodynamic isn't enough. The wings of planes has a flat bottom
and a curved top, like half of a teardrop shape. Low pressure on the top of the wing and high
pressure on the bottom of the wing means that there is a pressure differential. This creates a lift. The
pressure is different due to the fact that the air needs to go through the same time, one of which has
a longer distance to go to, which has greater speed. The lift is what brings the airplane up to the
skies. However, in race car applications, the opposite is needed. Instead of a positive lift, a negative
lift is needed. So in reverse, the top side is flat, while the bottom is shaped like a half teardrop. In
theory, this should apply low pressure under and high pressure on top, creating a negative lift or
downforce. Downforce is mostly only required in high performance cars as it aims to have a
maximum amount of grip without putting weight to the car, otherwise, the mass will increase if a
wing is added in the back of a car and a diffuser in the front, which in result, will push the car
down. Even though wings and spoilers makes more drag, it’s a good trade of grip.

THE WING IN THE BACK AND THE FRONT OF THE CAR, WHERE
THERE IS A SPLITTER, HAS TURBULENT AIR, CREATING MORE DRAG
INSTEAD OF DOWNFORCE
Written by Nathan Lityo
Design and edit by Rebecca Sopacua

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