How Scientists Use Aerodynamics

Scientists who specialize in aerody­namics are known as aerodynamicists.

They put a lot of time and effort into reducing drag because drag wastes fuel. A plane’s engines have to burn fuel to generate the power necessary to over­come drag. Improving a plane’s aerody­namics can enable it to fly farther with­out burning any more fuel. Because drag acts like a brake, reducing drag also enables the fastest airplanes to go even faster. Improving a glider’s aerodynamic design enables it to stay aloft longer.

One way to study aerodynamics is to use a wind tunnel. Air is blown through a tunnel with a model aircraft inside. As the air flows around the model, the forces acting on it are measured.

Scientists would like to be able to calculate precisely how a plane will per­
form in the air instead of having to build models to test every design and every change in a design. Such calculations, however, present a formidable task. That task involves calculating the aerody­namic forces acting on every part of an aircraft as it flies through the air at all angles and speeds. To do this, the air flowing around the aircraft is divided into tiny packets called cells. The forces acting on each and every cell must be calculated to figure out how each cell moves and how it affects the aircraft. Each cell affects all the cells around it. In turn, they affect other cells, which affect yet others, making the problem incredi­bly complicated.

The method of using computers, numbers, and mathematical equations to figure out how air flows around an object is known as computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Only the fastest super­computers have the ability to use CFD to tackle complicated aerodynamics.