Aerodynamic coefficients of non slender cylindrical body

[ENgez]

hello,

I am trying to calculate the location of the center of pressure for a non slender cylinder with a cone shapes nose.

Referencing the internet and notes from a aerodynamics course, all the methods are for slender bodies.

unfortunately, my body is not slender. I am reluctant to go to CFD route, as I do not have enough experience to trust my results.

Are there any published methods to roughly analytically approximate the center of pressure location for this case?

Thank you.

 

[Achy47]

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out with your question. I understand your concern about using CFD without enough experience, and I agree that it is important to have a solid understanding of the methods being used before trusting the results.

In terms of calculating the center of pressure for a non-slender cylinder with a cone shaped nose, there are a few options you can consider. One approach is to use a combination of theoretical methods and empirical data to estimate the location of the center of pressure.

First, you can use the method of moments to calculate the center of pressure for the cone portion of the cylinder. This involves breaking down the cone into smaller sections and calculating the moment of each section about a reference point. The sum of these moments can then be used to determine the center of pressure for the cone.

Next, for the cylindrical portion of the body, you can use empirical data from wind tunnel experiments or published data from similar bodies to estimate the center of pressure. This can be done by plotting the pressure distribution along the body and identifying the point where the pressure distribution is zero. This point can then be used as the center of pressure for the cylindrical portion of the body.

Finally, you can combine these two estimates to get a rough approximation of the overall center of pressure for the non-slender cylinder with a cone shaped nose.

It is worth noting that these methods will provide a rough approximation and may not be as accurate as using CFD. However, they can still be a useful tool for initial design and analysis.

I hope this helps. Best of luck with your calculations!