Evaluation of Quasi-Steady Theory Applied to Windborne Flat Plates in Uniform Flow

Abstract

This paper analyzes models based on the quasi-steady theory for the flight of windborne plate debris. It is shown that the effects of the rotational lift, drag, and pitching moment are important and are included in the model. The model was used with success to predict the behavior of thin, square plates in a uniform stream, based on comparisons with existing experimental data. In fact, some of the scatter in the existing experimental data was explained by the numerical results. It was also shown that the buoyancy parameter was the key parameter in determining initial flight speeds and normalization of spatial coordinates with this parameter collapsed the data well.