Calculate Pressure Drag: Do-It-Yourself Wind/Water Tunnels?

AI Thread Summary
Calculating pressure drag on complex objects typically requires computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, as analytical solutions are limited to simple shapes like cylinders. While DIY wind or water tunnels can be constructed using basic materials like a vacuum cleaner and plexiglass, their accuracy may not meet professional standards. Users have expressed interest in finding free CFD programs since they lack access to commercial software like Fluent. The discussion highlights the challenges of accurately measuring drag due to the influence of ambient conditions and object geometry. Overall, while DIY methods can be useful for basic experiments, they may not yield precise results for complex applications.
Shawnzyoo
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Is there a way to calculate the pressure drag on objects?
without having to turn to CFD software?
thanks

also has anyone here ever built their own small wind/water tunnels for testing?
and how successful they were?
 
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For simple objects, such as a cylinder and with some basic assumptions there exist some analytical solutions. Unfortunately for anything complex, we all know the pressure drag or drag due to lift depends on the lift. The lift is dependent on the ambient conditiosn and the the geometry and material of the object. So in the end there is no easy way to calculate the drag of any complex object withoutthe use of CFD
 
thats what I was afraid of
are there any good free CFD progs to use?
i don't have access to progs like fluent
 
What kind of object are you interetsed in? There are many closed form solutions out there.

It is easy building a mini windtunnel you just need a vacuum cleaner and some plexiglass. Probably not publishable results but good for home experiments or classroom projects.
 
a high powered rocket is what I am doing
i have thought about building a windtunnel but i didn't think it would be nearly accurate enough for me
 

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