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Old 12-31-2009, 03:16 PM   #37 (permalink)
aerohead
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drag

drag reduction requires a "single pass".No "circulation" is allowed.
The turbulence behind the lead structure is followed by pure turbulence.The circular motion of these turbulent eddies prevents their kinetic energy from EVER being converted to static pressure behind the trailing structure.It will simply be lost to viscous attrition at some point downstream converting all it's energy to useless heat.
Simply softening the edges of the leading edges of the second structure will accomplish everything the lead structure is accomplishing and WITHOUT any circulation and loss of kinetic energy,making this conserved energy available to increase the base pressure behind the second structure,reducing its profile drag to a value lower than that possible when using the lead structure.
So far,and for sub-transonic velocity,three-dimensional flow,the 2.5:1 teardrop body-of-revolution remains the lowest drag aerodynamic form to be discovered and published about.
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