Lab 2 – Flow Visualization

Prepared By: Zachary Heuss

Prepared For: Dave Springford
Prepared On: January 28th, 2019
Objective
In this lab, the flow patterns of fluid around various shapes will be observed. This will be done
by observing dye in a water table as it bends around the contours of the shapes. This allows
visualization of then flow patterns and high/low pressure zones around the shapes.

Discussion
The following pictures show various shapes in the water table. The flow direction moves from
left to right as is shown in the pictures.

Shape 1: Circle

This shape shows that the as the flow approaches the circle it begins to slow down and bend
around. The flow stops directly in front of the circle creating a stagnation point which pushes
the other flow lines away and around. At the back the flow comes together again and evens
out away from the circle.
Shape 2: Semicircle

In this shape it was found that the flow again stops at the face of the circular side before
bending around the shape. At the corners the flow separates and becomes turbulent along the
flat face as can be seen in the smeared areas.
Shape 3: Trapezoid

In this shape the stagnation point is larger and on the flat front face of the shape. The sharp
corners on either end create separation points which cause turbulent flow to develop along the
sides and create another stagnation point along the back face.
Shape 4: Rectangle

The flow for the rectangle splits around the front face due to the stagnation point at the front.
The corners all create separation points though they are not seen to be very severe. The
turbulent flow runs across the whole back face with a stagnation point in the center.
Shape 5: Cascade

The flow moves across the cascade (set at ~15o w.r.t. the direction of flow) and creates no
clearly visible turbulent flow. The high velocity low pressure zone at the top is only marginally
more than those in between the airfoils. There are no clearly visible stagnation points as the
fluid can flow around the curved surface at the front without stopping.
Shape 6: Airfoil 15o

The flow splits nicely around the front of the airfoil, creating no stagnation points or turbulent
flow. The flow does not diverge much and converges very quickly after the fluid has passed the
airfoil.
Shape 7: Airfoil 30o

The flow becomes turbulent as it contacts the front as the angle with respect to the direction of
flow is too high. The high velocity low pressure zone is more concentrated than in the 15o
airfoil due to the high angle as well. The flow pattern diverges sooner and converges much
later at this angle due to all the turbulent flow.
Shape 8: Airfoil 45o

The flow becomes turbulent as it contacts the front and makes a stagnation point as the angle
with respect to the direction of flow is too high. The high velocity low pressure zone is more
concentrated than in the 15o or 30o airfoils due to the high angle as well. The flow pattern
diverges sooner and does not converge completely in the space given.
Shape 9: Orifice

The laminar flow moves through the tube until reaching the orifice which has two separation
points. These points cause most of the flow after the orifice to be very turbulent and the flow
is show not to converge back to laminar in the space given. The high velocity low pressure zone
is right in the opening.
Shape 10: Venturi

Unlike in the Orifice, the Venturi does not create very turbulent flow (if any). The corners
create very minor separation points and the flow remains largely laminar after the opening.
The high velocity low pressure zone is right in the opening.
Shape 11: Car with Spoiler

The flow runs over the face of the car creating a high velocity low pressure zone at the top and
another smaller one above the spoiler. The spoiler acts as a separation point which makes the
flow behind the car completely turbulent. There is a stagnation point on the very inside of the
back face.
Shape 12: Car without Spoiler

The flow runs over the face of the car creating a high velocity low pressure zone at the top.
Unlike the car with the spoiler, this shape does not have extremely turbulent flow at the back
face though there is still some turbulence present. The flow is not as concentrated near the
back as it is with the spoiler as there is no separation point to bend around.
Shape 13: Van

The fluid flows quickly above the van with the highest velocity lowest pressure being right at
the front of the roof. The flow continues to move very fast along the top of the van until
reaching the separation point at the back of the roof. This point creates turbulence across the
back face and a stagnation point in the lower middle section of the back face.
Conclusion
In conclusion, various shapes and their effects on flow patterns were observed and the
following information was found. Most separation points create turbulence on one side and
concentrated flow on the other. The higher the angle is with respect to the direction of flow;
the more turbulence will be seen on the contact face of the shape until eventually a stagnation
point is created. Fluid flows well along curved surfaces that are not too steep a curve and the
ideal angle is closer to 150 for curved shapes like airfoils.
References
- En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Fluid dynamics. [online] Available at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_dynamics [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].

- Flowvis.org. (2019). Flow Visualization – The Physics and Art of Fluid Flow. [online]
Available at: http://www.flowvis.org/ [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].

- Grc.nasa.gov. (2019). Flow Visualization. [online] Available at:

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/tunvis.html [Accessed 28 Jan. 2019].