Talk:Skin friction drag

Untitled
I have changed or added four parts.

1) The lead has been changed to explain more consicely the concept of skin friction drag.

2) The part for the Reynolds number has been removed since there is an existing page for the number.

3) Skin friction coefficients for each regime - laminar, transitional, and turbulent - have been added.

4) The importance of estimating skin friction in heat transfer has been added.

Fluidsolved (talk) 16:03, 11 December 2017 (UTC)

I don't know exactly what this needs changing to to fix it, but the bottom section titled "drag" is a) apparently in pounds and b) Has Cf on both sides of the equation, leading to them cancelling and you being left with a load of variables multiplied together equaling one. I see these as problems with need fixing.

Turbulent drag is not supposed to be less than laminar drag, with every other circumstances being the same
Article says: " Turbulent flow suggests a faster rate of flow due to velocity increase and/or viscosity decrease relative to laminar flow. This results in a thinner boundary layer which, relative to laminar flow, depreciates the magnitude of friction force as the fluid flows over the object "

A) That's clearly not the case since a thinner boundary layer would mean a greater tangential velocity gradient at the solid-fluid boundary, thus, greater friction.

B) In addition to that, a turbulent boundary layer has a steeper tangential velocity profile just because it's turbulent: the chaotic movement enhances the momentum diffusion.

C) The turbulent boundary layer is always thicker than a laminar boundary layer, et ceteris paribus. This also increases the displacement thickness, and by it, the pressure drag.

D) Many other factors can influence the laminar-turbulent transition than the 'rate of flow'. Examples: angle of attack, vortex generators, turbulators, normal jets at the boundary...

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.21.58.239 (talk) 21:02, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Possibly misleading equation
In aeronautics, the skin friction coefficient is given per wing planform area, not wetted area. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.21.58.239 (talk) 21:06, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

False statement about turbulent skin friction drag contribution to parasitic drag
Article says: "This suggests that the total parasitic drag observed in turbulent flow is minimally impacted by skin friction drag."

Actually, the laminar flow is more prone to separate, giving proportionally bigger form drag and smaller skin friction drag. In a turbulent case, it's the other way around. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.21.58.239 (talk) 21:17, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Vague introduction
Not only lifting bodies have skin friction drag, but every solid body in a fluid flow. Fluid skin friction drag is not like solid friction, it emerges through shear forces caused by velocity gradients, because of the no-slip condition. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.21.58.239 (talk) 22:08, 4 May 2016 (UTC)


 * This article should have a variety of sources unrelated to airplanes. Although, lift objects deal with skin friction drag, fluid flow around all objects is the general topic.Ebeginnings (talk) 16:36, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

Skin Friction and BLEVEs
I came here from a link on the BLEVE page, where it was stated that heat from skin friction can be a cause. I think this article could benefit from more non-airplane-related discussion. 184.67.135.194 (talk) 20:45, 5 October 2022 (UTC)