Drag of a Cylinder using Pendulum Method

Ummadi Naga Manohar Reddy, Umang Tyagi,

Unnikrishnan.S, Uttam Jodhawat
(Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology)
(Dated: August 4,2017)
(Experiment number : 3)

The aim of the experiment was to study the variation of Coefficient of Drag with
Reynolds Number by varying the flow velocity. Drag over a cylinder was calculated using
Pendulum method in subsonic flow region. The flow velocity was was varied by changing
the rpm of the motor and this change was measured using manometric tubes attached
to the system. From the experiment, it was concluded that the Drag acting on a body
increases with the increase in Reynolds Number.

Nomenclature
CD Coefficient of Drag
D Drag Force
d Diameter of the Cylinder
Lc Length of Cylinder
lp Length of Pendulum
lr Cylindrical rod length
mp Mass of the Pendulum
Mc Mass of Cylinder
mr Mass of rod
g Acceleration due to gravity
Angle made by the Pendulum
Inclination of Manometer Board
s Frontal Area
Density of Air
v Free Stream Velocity
P Pressure
h Height measured
Re Reynolds Number
Dynamic Viscosity
q Dynamic Pressure

I. Introduction
The force experienced by a body kept in the fluid domain which opposes its relative motion and act in
the direction of free stream velocity is said to be Drag Force. Study of drag is useful and important for the
design of auto-mobiles, aeroplanes and streamlined bodies. It is dependent on the density of medium, its
velocity, size, shape and the orientation of the body. Drag co-efficient,CD , a dimensionless quantity is used
to quantify drag or resistance on the object in flow field.1 The expression for the drag co-efficient is:

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 2D
CD = 2
v

Figure 1. Flow past a Cylinder

The total drag is due to skin friction drag and pressure drag (form drag). Skin friction is due to the wall
shear stress whereas the pressure drag is due to unbalanced pressure forces caused by the flow separation.
Skin friction drag is predominant for lower Reynolds number whereas pressure drag becomes significant for
high Re number. Here, in the experiment a cylinder is placed in the flow field of air and the drag force acting
on it is calculated for different velocities.

II. Background
The flow of air over the cylinder in a wind tunnel exerts a drag force on the cylinder in the direction
of flow which in turn generates a moment on common shaft having a bob on the outside. The bob gets
deflected by certain angle() as the system comes to equilibrium by balancing the torques generated. The
expression for the drag is obtained from free body diagram(fig 2) as:

Figure 2. Free Body Diagram

Dcos()(lr + R) = (mp lp + (mr lp /2) + Mc (lr + R))gsin()

From this equation, we get:

(mp lp + (mr lp /2) + Mc (lr + R))gtan()

D=
lr + R

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 Also we know that

P = gHSin
2
P = (1/2)v
p
v = (gH)
D
CD = 2
(1/2)v
v d
Re =

The critical Reynolds number for the flow across a cylinder is found to be near 2 105 . So, the boundary
layer remains laminar for Re < 2 105 and becomes turbulent for Re > 2 105 .2 The drag coefficient CD
is strongly influenced by this flow around the cylinder. Both the skin friction and pressure drag becomes
significant depending upon the Reynolds number. That is, the drag force is mainly due to skin friction at
low Reynolds number and pressure drag at higher Reynolds number. CD sometimes depends on the surface
roughness also.
The variation of CD , for the flow around cylinder and sphere, with the increasing Reynolds number is as
shown in fig 3.

Figure 3. Graph showing Expected Variation of CD with Reynolds Number

For lower Re number,Re <= 1, there is no flow separation and CD decreases with the Reynolds
number.
The flow starts separating at around Re=10 and this separation starts increasing with the Reynolds
number. The drag coefficient CD , is decreasing till Re < 103 .

CD remains relatively constant in the range 103 < Re < 105 , which is the characteristic of blunt bodies.
In this range, flow in boundary layer is laminar but is turbulent in the separated region.
In the range of 105 < Re < 106 , the value of CD suddenly decreases because the flow becomes
turbulent in the boundary layer thereby the magnitude of pressure drag decreases. Thus, the size of
wake decreases and the separation point moves further on the rear side of cylinder.3

III. Experimental Set-up and Procedure

The set-up of the experiment(fig 4) consisted of a blower type wind tunnel which was used to generate
the flow past a cylinder.

A cylinder was hung at one end of the wind tunnel which was connected to the bob of a pendulum so
as to measure the angle of deviation.
The blower was rotated to various rpm values and corresponding values of deflection was measured.

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 The velocity of flow was measured by noting the pressure difference at two different points
The noted values of Pendulum Deflection and manometric height difference was used to calculate the
Re and CD values.

Figure 4. Experimental Setup

IV. Results

Figure 5. Graph showing Variation of CD with Reynolds Number

Figure 6. Graph showing Variation of Drag with Reynolds Number

V. Discussion and Conclusion

The coefficient of drag was found to be increasing very slightly , with increase in Reynolds number
within experimental uncertainties. As compared to the experimental data compiled in Incompressible flow,
the variation is consistent. The variation in the magnitude from the standard results is accounted for the
experimental uncertainties and the imperfections in the experimental design. These include:
The presence of the connecting rod to the cylinder interfering with the flow.

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 The cylinder might not be perfectly aligned with the flow direction.
The finite size of the cylinder means that the end effects will be strong and hence it cannot be approx-
imated as a 2D object.
The presence of the walls of the test-section in close proximity to the end faces of the cylinder means
that the flow would not be of the same Re as predicted due to flow acceleration in the region. Also the
boundary layer effects cannot be totally ignored due to this proximity.
Strong oscillations were observed in the position of the cylinder at the higher end of the Re tested.
These oscillations can be due to the vortex shedding of the cylinder at higher Re.
The end of the tunnel was open to the atmosphere which can cause errors due to the interaction of the
out coming air with higher pressure stationery air. This error is magnified by the movement in front
of the opening.

Appendix
Table No.1

References
1 Yunus A. Cengel and John M. Cimbala: Fluid Mechanics, 1st Edition, McGraw Hill Education.
2 John.D.Andersson Jr.: Introduction to Flight, 5th Edition
3 Piyush K Kundu: Fluid Mechanics

Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge all the people involved directly or indirectly in completion of this experiment
and report. We would like to thank our lab supervisor Dr. B. R. Vinoth for providing us an opportunity to
experimentally understand various aspects of aerodynamics. We would also like to thank our instructors for
providing us the needful guidance for conducting the experiment.

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