Skin friction drag

Type of aerodynamic or hydrodynamic drag Skin friction drag or viscous drag is a type of aerodynamic or hydrodynamic drag, which is resistant force exerted on an object moving in a fluid. Skin friction drag is caused by the viscosity of fluids and develops from laminar to turbulent drag as a fluid moves more rapidly across the surface of an object. Skin friction drag is generally expressed in terms of the Reynolds number, which is the ratio between inertial force and viscous force. Total drag can be decomposed into a skin friction drag component and a pressure drag component, where pressure drag includes all other sources of drag, including lift-induced drag. In this conceptualisation, lift-induced drag is an artificial abstraction, part of the horizontal component of the aerodynamic reaction force. Alternatively, total drag can be decomposed into a parasitic drag component and a lift-induced drag component, where parasitic drag is all components of drag except lift-induced drag. In this conceptualisation, skin friction drag is a component of parasitic drag. Flow and effect on skin friction drag Laminar flow over a body occurs when layers of the fluid move smoothly past each other