Linear Coupled Attitude–Orbit Control Through Aerodynamic Drag

Smart morphable surfaces for aerodynamic drag control.

Smart Morphable Surfaces enable switchable and tunable aerodynamic drag reduction of bluff bodies. Their topography, resembling the morphology of golf balls, can be custom-generated through a wrinkling instability on a curved surface. Pneumatic actuation of these patterns results in the control of the drag coefficient of spherical samples by up to a factor of two, over a range of flow conditions.

The Aerodynamic Drag of Parafoils

The parafoil is an aerodynamic decelerator that uses the concept of parachute and airfoil aerodynamics. The device has been used as a parachute for high-precision delivering of payload (military and civilian), to recover sounding rockets, for various tethered applications (to carry instrumentation for weather survey, air pollution measurements, radar tracking systems), and as recreational parac...

Aerodynamic drag in cycling: methods of assessment.

When cycling on level ground at a speed greater than 14 m/s, aerodynamic drag is the most important resistive force. About 90% of the total mechanical power output is necessary to overcome it. Aerodynamic drag is mainly affected by the effective frontal area which is the product of the projected frontal area and the coefficient of drag. The effective frontal area represents the position of the ...

Aerodynamic drag of modern soccer balls

Soccer balls such as the Adidas Roteiro that have been used in soccer tournaments thus far had 32 pentagonal and hexagonal panels. Recently, the Adidas Teamgeist II and Adidas Jabulani, respectively having 14 and 8 panels, have been used at tournaments; the aerodynamic characteristics of these balls have not yet been verified. Now, the Adidas Tango 12, having 32 panels, has been developed for u...

Linear-response theory of Coulomb drag in coupled electron systems.