Survey of principal concepts and methods of fluid dynamics. Mass conservation, momentum, and energy equations for continua. Navier-Stokes equation for viscous flows. Similarity and dimensional analysis. Lubrication theory. Boundary layers and separation. Circulation and vorticity theorems. Potential flow. Introduction to turbulence. Lift and drag. Surface tension and surface tension-driven flows.

This course extends fluid mechanic concepts from Unified Engineering to the aerodynamic performance of wings and bodies in sub/supersonic regimes. It generally has four components: subsonic potential flows, including source/vortex panel methods; viscous flows, including laminar and turbulent boundary layers; aerodynamics of airfoils and wings, including thin airfoil theory, lifting line theory, and panel method/interacting boundary layer methods; and supersonic and hypersonic airfoil theory. Course material varies each year depending upon the focus of the design problem.

How does an airplane stay aloft when upside down? This media-rich essay from the NOVA Web site offers an explanation based on Newton's third law of motion. Grades 6-12.

The purpose of this activity is to bring together the students' knowledge of engineering and airplanes and the creation of a glider model to determine how each modification affects the flight. The students will use a design procedure whereby one variable is changed and all the others are kept constant.

Working in teams of four, you and your team will build a tetrahedral kite following a specific set of directions and using specific provided materials. You will use basic processes of manufacturing systems -- cutting, shaping, forming, conditioning, assembling, joining, finishing, and quality control -- to manufacture a complete tetrahedral kite within a given time frame. Evaluation of your project will involve the efficiency of your team as well as your finished product.

This lesson introduces students to the concept of air pressure. Students will explore how air pressure creates force on an object. They will study the relationship between air pressure and the velocity of moving air.

The course begins with the basics of compressible fluid dynamics, including governing equations, thermodynamic context and characteristic parameters. The next large block of lectures covers quasi-one-dimensional flow, followed by a discussion of disturbances and unsteady flows. The second half of the course comprises gas dynamic discontinuities, including shock waves and detonations, and concludes with another large block dealing with two-dimensional flows, both linear and non-linear.

This course covers the development of the fundamental equations of fluid mechanics and their simplifications for several areas of marine hydrodynamics and the application of these principles to the solution of engineering problems. Topics include the principles of conservation of mass, momentum and energy, lift and drag forces, laminar and turbulent flows, dimensional analysis, added mass, and linear surface waves, including wave velocities, propagation phenomena, and descriptions of real sea waves. Wave forces on structures are treated in the context of design and basic seakeeping analysis of ships and offshore platforms. Geophysical fluid dynamics will also be addressed including distributions of salinity, temperature, and density; heat balance in the ocean; major ocean circulations and geostrophic flows; and the influence of wind stress. Experimental projects conducted in ocean engineering laboratories illustrating concepts taught in class, including ship resistance and model testing, lift and drag forces on submerged bodies, and vehicle propulsion.

Students revisit Bernoulli's Principle (Lesson 1 of the Airplanes unit) and learn how engineers use this principle to design airplane wings. Airplane wings create lift by changing the pressure of the air around it. This is the first of four lessons exploring the four key forces in flight: lift, weight, thrust and drag.

In NASA CONNECT Tools of the Aeronautics Trade, students explore the U.S. Customary and Metric systems of measurement, understand how to convert units in both systems, and are introduced to the four forces of aerodynamics: lift, weight, drag and thrust. Students also investigate the tools and techniques used by NASA aeronautical engineers and scientists to measure lift and drag. Grades 4-8.

This lesson introduces students to the art of designing an airplane through paper airplane constructions. The goal is that students will learn important aircraft design considerations and how engineers must iterate their designs to achieve success. Students first follow several basic paper airplane models, after which they will then design their own paper airplane. They will also learn how engineers make models to test ideas and designs.

The airplanes unit begins with a lesson on how airplanes create lift, which involves a discussion of air pressure and how wings use Bernoulli's Principle to change air pressure. Following the lessons on lift, students explore the other three forces acting on airplanes thrust, weight and drag. Following these lessons, students learn how airplanes are controlled and use paper airplanes to demonstrate these principles. The final lessons addresses societal and technological impacts airplanes have had on our world. Students learn about different kinds of airplanes and then design and build their own balsa wood airplanes based on what they have learned.

Students begin to explore the idea of a force. To further their understanding of drag, gravity and weight, they conduct activities that model the behavior of parachutes and helicopters. An associated literacy activity engages the class to recreate the Wright brothers' first flight in the style of the "You Are There" television series.