CHAPTER 9.

FLOW PAST THROUGH SUBMERGED BODIES

9.1 Introduction

It is often necessary to find the force on objects moving through a stationary fluid, or force on the
stationary bodies over which fluid flows, or both the object and fluid in motion. When the body
immersed in a fluid, moves through the fluid, then a force is exerted on it by the fluid. The body, in turn,
exerts a force on the fluid, which is equal in magnitude, but opposite to the direction. The force exerted
on the fluid or the body results from relative motion. So the magnitude of force is same whether the
body moves through the static fluid or the fluid moves over static body.

Example of fluids flowing over stationary bodies or bodies moving in a fluid

 Force on bodies like aeroplane, submarine, automobile, ship moving through a static fluid
 Force on chimney, cable subjected to wind
 Force on buildings submerged in air
 Force on bridges submerged in water

9.2 Drag and Lift

When a fluid flows over a stationary body, it will exert a force on the body.
FL

FR
U

FD

stationary body

The total force exerted by the fluid on the body is perpendicular to the surface of the body. This force is
inclined to the direction of motion. This force has two components. The component of total force in the
direction of motion is called drag force (FD), and the component of the force perpendicular to the
direction of motion is called lift force (FL). Lift force occurs only when the axis of the body is inclined to
the direction of flow. If the axis of the body is parallel to the direction of flow, lift force is zero.

Expression for drag and lift

Consider an arbitrary shaped solid body placed in a real fluid, which is flowing with a uniform velocity V
in a horizontal direction. Consider a small elemental area dA on the surface of the body. The forces

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acting on surface dA are: pressure force acting perpendicular surface, shear force acting tangential to
the surface. Let θ be the angle made by the pressure force with horizontal direction.

FL
PdA
FR
τ0dA PdAcosθ
PdA
τ0dA
FD θ
θ
V τ0dAsinθ
PdAsinθ
θ
τ0dAcosθ

stationary body

Drag force

Drag force on elemental area = Total force in the direction of motion

Total drag is
∫ ∫
Types of drag
First term: pressure drag/form drag
Second term: friction drag/skin drag/shear drag

The existence of viscosity for real fluids is the main cause of drag on the bodies. In the boundary layer
zone, due to the velocity gradient, considerable shear stresses are caused. These shear stresses exert a
tangential force on the object, which is called shear or friction drag.

If the surface of the immersed object, along which boundary layer forms, is such that it curves away
from the flow, there exists a tendency of flowing fluid to leave the boundary. This phenomenon is
known as separation of flow. Due to this, low pressure region known as wake is formed. As the pressure
in the upstream side is higher, there exists a pressure difference which causes drag on the object. This is
known as pressure drag.

Due to viscosity, deformation of fluid particles take place. In order to cause deformation, certain forces
are necessarily developed, which offer an additional resistance to the motion. The component of such
force in the direction of motion is called deformation drag. The deformation drag mainly exists in the
case of very small objects moving at very small velocities through fluids of large viscosity.

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Lift force

Lift force on elemental area = Total force in the direction perpendicular to the direction of motion

Total lift is
∫ ∫

Mathematically, drag and lift for a body moving in a fluid of density ρ, at a uniform velocity V are
calculated by the following equation.

where CD = coefficient of drag

CL = coefficient of lift
A = largest projected area of immersed body (projected area perpendicular to the direction of flow)

The resultant force ( ) √

9.3 Drag on a flat plate

Plate held parallel to the direction of flow of fluid: When a thin plate is held parallel to the direction of
flow of fluid, then total drag force exerted on the fluid is equal to the friction drag which is due to the
formation of boundary layer. The magnitude of drag force depends on whether the boundary layer is
laminar or turbulent or transitional.
Boundary layer

Plate held perpendicular to the direction of flow of fluid: When a thin plate is held perpendicular to the
direction of flow of fluid, then the friction drag is negligible compared to the pressure drag. The flow
separates at the edge forming a turbulent wake behind the plate. So the effect of inertia force becomes
predominant even at lower Reynold number (Re). Drag coefficient is a function of Re only at low and
moderate values of Re. However, as the value of Re exceeds 1000, CD assumes a constant value of about
0.2. A reduction in the value of CD occurs if the ratio of length of plate to its width is not very large.

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 Separation point

wake

Plate held at an angle with the direct of flow: In this case, total drag = pressure drag + friction drag

9.4 Drag on sphere

Pattern of streamlines around a sphere

Irrotational flow (ideal fluid) Laminar boundary layer Turbulent boundary layer

In case of ideal fluid, the flow pattern is symmetrical on the front and rear of the sphere and drag force
is zero due to the absence of viscosity and symmetrical pressure distribution. In the laminar boundary
layer, the points of separation are located on the upstream half portion. When the boundary layer
becomes turbulent, the points of separation shift farther downstream towards the rear of the cylinder.

Drag force on sphere depends on the Reynolds number (Re), which is given by

where = density of fluid, D = Diameter of sphere, V = Velocity of flow over the sphere, = coefficient
of viscosity

According to Stoke, the drag force on sphere for Re<0.2 is given by

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Pressure drag = and friction drag =

Value of coefficient of drag of sphere for different Re

a. Re<0.2
Equating equation of drag force with Stoke’s equation

b. For Re between 0.2-0.5

( )
c. For Re between 5-1000, CD = 0.4
d. For Re between 1000-100000, CD = 0.5
e. For Re>100000, CD = 0.2

Find Re and corresponding CD, then compute FD.

9.5 Terminal velocity

When a body falls from rest in the atmosphere, its velocity increases and the drag force opposing its
motion also increases. A stage is reached when the upward drag force is equal to the weight of the
body. The net force acting on the body will be zero and the body will move with constant speed. The
constant velocity is called terminal velocity of the body.

If a body, drops in a fluid, then after attaining terminal velocity, the forces acting on the body are: drag
force (FD), weight of the body (W) and buoyant force (FB)
W = FD + FB

9.6 Drag on cylinder

Drag force on cylinder depends on the Reynolds number (Re), which is given by

where = density of fluid, D = Diameter of cylinder, V = Velocity of flow over the cylinder, =
coefficient of viscosity. The length of cylinder is perpendicular to the direction of flow.

The pattern of streamlines around a cylinder is similar to that of sphere.

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Variation of flow around a cylinder with different Re

Re = 2 to 30 Re = 40 to 70 Re = 90

For Re<0.2, the inertia force is negligible and the flow pattern is symmetrical. With the increase of Re, the
flow pattern becomes unsymmetrical with respect to the axis perpendicular to the direction of flow. At
Re from 2 to 30, very weak vortices are formed on the downstream of the cylinder. It is the initial stage
for the development of the wake. At Re from 40 to 70, the wake as well as a pair of vortices become
quite distinct. With further increase in the value of Re, the vortices become more and more elongated in
the direction of flow. At Re = 90, these vortices become cylindrical, they leave the cylinder and slowly
move in the downstream direction.

Value of coefficient of drag of cylinder for different Re

a. For Re<1,
b. For Re between 1-2000: CD decreases and reaches a minimum value of 0.95 at Re = 2000.
c. For Re = 2000-30000: CD increases and attains a maximum value of 1.2 at Re = 30000.
d. For Re = 30000-300000: CD decreases. At Re = 300000, CD = 0.3
e. For Re>300000: CD increases and it becomes equal to 0.7 in the end.

9.7 Lift on airfoil

A body whose shape coincides with the streamlines when placed in a flow is called streamlined body. An
airfoil is a streamlined body which may be either symmetrical or unsymmetrical. Some of the
terminologies used to characterize airfoil are as follows.

Chord line: It is the line joining the front and rear edge.
Angle of attack: It is the angle between the direction of flowing fluid and chord line.
Camber: It is the curvature of an airfoil.
Span: The overall length of airfoil is called its span (L).
Aspect ratio: The ratio of span (L) to mean chord (C) is called aspect ratio.

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Stall: An airfoil is said to be in stall condition when the angle of attack of an airfoil is greater than the
angle of attack at maximum lift. At stall, the air separates from airfoil and eddies are formed, as a result
of which there is considerable increase in the drag coefficient.

chord line

α L

Example of airfoil: wing of aeroplane

Lift

Thrust
Drag

Weight

The wings provide lift by creating a situation where the pressure above the wing is lower than the
pressure below the wing. Since the pressure below the wing is higher than the pressure above the wing,
there is a net force upwards. To create this pressure difference, the surface of the wing must satisfy one
or both of the following conditions. The wing surface must be Cambered (curved) and/or inclined
relative to the airflow direction.

Viscosity is essential in generating lift. The effects of viscosity lead to the formation of the starting vortex
which, in turn is responsible for producing the proper conditions for lift. To satisfy the conservation of
angular momentum, there must be an equivalent motion to oppose the vortex movement. This takes
the form of circulation around the wing. The velocity vectors from this counter circulation add to the
free flow velocity vectors, thus resulting in a higher velocity above the wing and a lower velocity below
the wing.

From the theoretical analysis, the circulation ( ) developed on the airfoil so that the rear edge of the
airfoil is tangential to is, is given by

where C = chord length, V = free stream velocity of airfoil.

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Lift force (FL) is given by
(a)
(b)
Equating a and b

CL depends on angle of attack only.

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