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A note on the Galilean invariance of aerodynamic force theories in unsteady incompressible flows

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Abstract

As a basic principle in classical mechanics, the Galilean invariance states that the force is the same in all inertial frames of reference. But this principle has not been properly addressed by most unsteady aerodynamic force theories, if the partial force contributed by a local flow structure is to be evaluated. In this note, we discuss the Galilean-invariance conditions of the partial force for several typical theories and numerically test what would happen if these conditions do not hold.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 11472016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    An-Kang Gao & Jiezhi Wu

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  1. An-Kang Gao
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  2. Jiezhi Wu
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Correspondence to Jiezhi Wu.

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Gao, AK., Wu, J. A note on the Galilean invariance of aerodynamic force theories in unsteady incompressible flows. Acta Mech. Sin. 35, 1150–1154 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-019-00896-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-019-00896-5

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