title: Low Reynolds number Couette flow facility for drag measurements.
abstract: For this study a new low Reynolds number Couette facility was constructed to investigate surface drag. In this facility, mineral oil was used as the working fluid to increase the shear stress across the surface of the experimental models. A mounted conveyor inside a tank creates a flow above which an experimental model of a flat plate was suspended. The experimental plate was attached to linear bearings on a slide system that connects to a force gauge used to measure the drag. Within the gap between the model and moving belt a Couette flow with a linear velocity profile was created. Digital particle image velocimetry was used to confirm the velocity profile. The drag measurements agreed within 5% of the theoretically predicted Couette flow value.
authors.affiliation: Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, University of Alabama, Box 87280, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, USA.
authors.forename: Tyler J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Amy W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Jennifer N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Wheelus
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Westcott