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TM2: Drag Force

Equation

\[ \mathbf{F_D} = - \frac{1}{2} \rho S C_D \mathbf{v}v \]

Description

The drag force, proportional to the square of the velocity, acts in the opposite direction of the velocity vector.

  • \(\rho\) is the air density.
  • \(S\) is the cross-sectional area of the object.
  • \(C_D\) is the drag coefficient.
  • \(\mathbf{v}\) is the velocity vector.
  • \(v\) is the magnitude of the velocity vector.

Notes

The drag coefficient (\(C_D\)) is usually provided as a curve with respect to the Mach number (\(M\)). The curve need to be interpolated at each time step to get the current drag coefficient.

Sources

Carlucci 20071

Uses

Referenced by

DD1: Sum of Forces

  1. Donald E Carlucci. Ballistics: theory and design of guns and ammunition. Crc Press, 2007. ↩