Originally posted by Thomas1980
Which methods or tools is there for scientists who work with aerodynamics? Only windtunnels with smoke sticks (and watertanks) and computersimulations based on calculations?
If I may turn your question around a bit
Instead of asking what tools we need to do to get the job done, it is more instructive in this instance to ask what jobs we need to get done, and therefore what tools
First, you have Fluid Dynamics as applied to buildings. A big field, because it determines how strong your supports for billboards have to be, whether your skyscraper is going to sway too much or whether your smoke stack is going to fall down. Here, atmospheric data are collected from weather stations spanning decades and are statistically compiled & correlated. Yes, there's a small chance that your skyscraper will fall down because of a freak gust, but the design here is always statistically done. Just a small chance
. At times, wind tunnel models of scaled down cities are even created! Then you also have computation modelling here.
Naval architecture, such as oil rigs and more recently, offshore tidal power platforms, require similar attention. The tools here are often simple theory for rough calculations, followed up by water tank experiments.
Then, you have Fluid Dynamics as applied to aircraft surfaces and geometry. For here, you have subsonic and supersonic flight. In subsonic flight, most establishments can have the cheaper subsonic windtunnels. For supersonic components, you have 'gun' tubes and even supersonic windtunnels. Some establishments choose to use exotic gases and cryogenic windtunnels to obtain similarity parameter (Reynolds number) matching, basically by trying to lower the viscosity. For obvious reasons, supersonic wind tunnels require huge quantities of energy to run and can not usually be run for sustained periods. Flow parameters are measured or indirectly inferred using things such as smoke, dyes in liquids, interferometry, Schlieren imaging (exclusively for supersonic flows), pressure probes, force balances.
You also have Fluid Dynamics as applied to turbomachinery, such as jet engines. In this instance, the flow is almost always turbulent with at least some supersonic regions. Theory takes you so far, usually by analysing the thermodynamics of the engine and various aspects such as Cascade Theory and Blade Element Theory. After that, it is empiricism, experiement and computation.
As a sidenote, Aero Engineering is much more than just Aerodynamics. There is cutting edge material science with the exciting stuff like monocrystalline turbine blades; composites; titanium, aluminium and steel alloys. Not boring concrete like civil engineers study . It also has Materials modelling, which covers aspects such as Fracture mechanics and composite failure. Then there are Structural analysis aspects, which covers things like how thick your fuselage skin has to be and how many/how stiff your ribs/stringers should be. Design aspects, where you use CAD, theory and calculations to turn an aircraft into something tangible on paper. Then there are manufacturing aspects, where you turn it into reality...things like superplastic forming of Titanium alloys and forging of work-hardened components. This is even before you decide to do your Masters or PhD in Turbulence modelling, Ballistics, Supersonic Aerodynamics, Space Vechicle Design, Plasma Aerodynamics, Advanced Composites, Wing-In-Ground Effect.
Rocket science isn't called the hardest subject and frequently used as a 'very-difficult-subject' label for nothing
