Physics
Turbulence lab
Navier–Stokes flow over a wing: separation, vortices, a turbulent wake.
What happens
A virtual wind tunnel: fluid streams past a wing and the smooth flow tears into vortices and a turbulent wake. Switch the view between the vortex wake, the vortex cores and dye streaklines, then raise the flow speed or the angle of attack and watch the flow separate from the wing. Swap the body in the tunnel - wing, sphere, cylinder, flat plate or a blunt brick - and compare how each sheds its wake.
Equations used in the module
Equations ∂u/∂t + (u·∇)u = −∇p/ρ + (ν+ν_t)∇²u ∇·u ≈ 0; Re = Uc/ν C_L = L/(½ρU²c); C_D = D/(½ρU²c)
