Bluff body

Concept

Therefore, when the drag is dominated by a frictional component, the body is called a streamlined body, while in the case of dominant pressure drag, the body is called a blunt or bluff body. Thus, the shape of the body and the angle of attack determine the type of drag. For example, an airfoil is considered a body with a small angle of attack by the fluid flowing across it. This means that it has attached boundary layers, which produce much less pressure drag. The wake produced is very small and drag is dominated by the friction component. Therefore, such a body (here an airfoil) is described as streamlined, whereas for bodies with fluid flow at high angles of attack, boundary layer separation takes place. This mainly occurs due to adverse pressure gradients at the top and rear parts of an airfoil.