Tagged Questions

6
votes
2answers
120 views

Could some design of a propeller be used in both air and water?

Propellers in water are smaller in diameter. They also move more slowly. On the other hand, aircraft propellers are larger in diameter, have narrower blades and operate at very high speeds. An ...
0
votes
2answers
193 views

Forces on an aircraft - thrust, lift, drag, weight

I'm extremely sceptical about the wikipedia page on aircraft flight mechanics. When describing 'straight climbing flight', it says: lift is unable to alter the aircraft's potential energy or ...
1
vote
2answers
89 views

Estimating drag due to wind - ribbon-shaped sail

In the countless calculations and discussions concerning the "space rope" I've never found any addressing its capability to resist winds. Consider, as in most current works, it's a 1m wide ribbon, ...
2
votes
1answer
215 views

Limitations of drag equation

The magnitude of the air resistance for objects with Reynolds numbers greater than 1000 is given by the formula: Why it does not hold for objects with lower Reynolds numbers? Can I use this ...
0
votes
0answers
131 views

Torque required to spin a disk along its diameter

How would I calculate (or simulate) this? I am only interested in the aerodynamic drag caused by the surface moving, not any other forces. As far as I know, the only variables needed are the drag ...
0
votes
2answers
223 views

Bicycle Wheel Drag in Slipstream

I was recently driving behind a car that had a bicycle mounted on a carrier over the rear bumper. The bicycle wheels were not bound so they were rotating in the slip-stream of the car. I wonder, the ...
1
vote
1answer
123 views

What would be an appropiate shape for a parachute?

I'm trying to design a parachute that minimizes the descent velocity, but I'm not sure what shape I should use. From what I've read, ellipse-shaped parachutes are too aerodynamic and minimize drag, ...
3
votes
3answers
401 views

Does wind speed things up or accelerate things?

This question may seem odd, but I can't think of anything better. So I'll go straight to the point. Let's say there's a projectile in air going east, shot at a certain angle, with a certain speed. ...