2015/09/22 by Paulo Victor Santos Souza, Souza, Paulo Victor Santos, Paulo Murilo Castro de Oliveira +1
Physics and Astronomy · #Experimental and Theoretical Physics Studies #FOS: Physical sciences #Physics Education (physics.ed-ph) #physics.ed-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1509.06794
in Portuguese
openalex publication_date 2015/09/22 · arxiv created 2015/12/07 · arxiv updated 2015/12/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Flow of viscous fluids are not usually discussed in detail in general and basic courses of physics. This is due in part to the fact that the Navier-Stokes equation has analytical solution only for a few restricted cases, while more sophisticated problems can only be solved by numerical methods. In this text, we present a computer simulation of wind tunnel, i.e., we present a set of programs to solve the Navier-Stokes equation for an arbitrary object inserted in a wind tunnel. The tunnel enables us to visualize the formation of vortices behind object, the so-called von Kármán vortices, and calculate the drag force on the object. We believe that this numerical wind tunnel can support the teacher and allow a more elaborate discussion of viscous flow. The potential of the tunnel is exemplified by the study of the drag on a simplified model of wing whose angle of attack can be controlled. A link to download the programs that make up the tunnel appears at the end.