Aerodynamics

Airfoils, wings, drag, shocks and CFD. How air flows around vehicles: laminar and turbulent flow, airfoils and lift, finite wings and induced drag, boundary layers and separation, compressible and supersonic flow, and how wind tunnels and CFD produce aerodynamic data.

• Laminar/Turbulent Flow — Flow is smooth (laminar) or chaotic (turbulent) depending on the Reynolds number. Learn Re, transition, velocity profiles, boundary layers and why turbulence matters for mixing, heat transfer and pressure loss.
• Airfoils, Lift & Pressure Distribution — The cross-section of a wing decides how it lifts. Learn airfoil geometry (chord, camber, thickness, leading and trailing edges), NACA 4-digit designations, angle of attack, lift, drag and moment coefficients, pressure coefficient and pressure distributions, the Kutta condition and circulation, thin-airfoil theory (C_l = 2πα), zero-lift angle, aerodynamic centre, stall and high-lift devices — with Python for thin-airfoil lift and NACA thickness.
• Finite Wings, Induced Drag & the Drag Polar — Real wings have tips. Learn wing geometry (span, aspect ratio, taper, sweep, dihedral), tip vortices, downwash and induced drag, lifting-line theory and the Oswald efficiency factor, elliptic lift distribution, winglets, the components of drag (skin friction, form, interference, wave), the drag polar C_D = C_D0 + kC_L², and maximum L/D — with Python computing the polar and minimum-drag speed.
• Viscous Flow, Boundary Layers & Separation — Why drag exists at all. Learn the no-slip condition, boundary-layer thickness, laminar (Blasius) and turbulent boundary layers, transition and the Reynolds number, skin-friction coefficients, adverse pressure gradients and separation, flow control (vortex generators, turbulators, suction), and why golf balls have dimples — with Python for boundary-layer growth and friction drag.
• Compressible Flow, Shock Waves & Supersonic Flight — When speed approaches and exceeds sound. Learn Mach regimes, isentropic relations for temperature, pressure and density, stagnation conditions, the area–Mach relation and converging-diverging nozzles, normal and oblique shocks, Mach waves and cones, expansion fans, critical Mach and drag divergence, sweep and area rule, sonic boom and aerodynamic heating — with Python for isentropic flow and normal shocks.
• Wind Tunnels, Similarity & Computational Aerodynamics — How aerodynamic data is actually obtained. Learn dimensional analysis and similarity (Reynolds, Mach, Froude), wind-tunnel types and measurements (balances, pressure taps, PIV), corrections, potential flow and panel methods, the CFD workflow (geometry, mesh, solver, turbulence models, convergence, validation), levels of fidelity (panel → Euler → RANS → LES), and flight testing — with Python for cylinder pressure and model-scale similarity.