Modelling aerodynamic forces and torques of spheroid particles in compressible flows

Abstract

In the present study, we conduct numerical simulations of compressible flows around spheroid particles, for the purpose of refining empirical formulas for drag force, lift force, and pitching torque acting on them. Through an analysis of approximately a thousand numerical simulation cases spanning a wide range of Mach numbers, Reynolds numbers and particle aspect ratios, we first identify the crucial parameters that are strongly correlated with the forces and torques via Spearman correlation analysis, based on which the empirical formulas for the drag force, lift force and pitching torque coefficients are refined. The novel formulas developed for compressible flows exhibit consistency with their incompressible counterparts at low Mach number limits and, moreover, yield accurate predictions with average relative errors of less than 5%. This underscores their robustness and reliability in predicting aerodynamic loads on spheroidal particles under various flow conditions.