Gustave Eiffel -A Pioneer in Experimental Aerodynamics

The First Question comes in our mind, The Man Who built Eiffel Tower, How he has became a Pioneer in Experimental Aerodynamics? So lets start to answer the question and some Aerospace Facts.

Who Was Gustave Eiffel?

Gustave Eiffel was a French engineer who designed and oversaw construction of the Eiffel Tower. Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel was born in Dijon, France on December 15, 1832.he attended the École Polytechnique (Polytechnic School) and later the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures (College of Art and Manufacturing) in Paris, graduating in 1855.

Short Information about Eiffel Tower: 

Eiffel is most famous for what would become known as the Eiffel Tower. The work started in 1887 for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris. The tower is composed of 12,000 different components and 2,500,000 rivets, all designed and assembled to handle wind pressure.

How he has became a Pioneer in Experimental Aerodynamics:

The most used term Aerodynamics Drag Polar, the label of term he has named. The drag polar is the relationship between the lift on an aircraft and its drag, expressed in terms of the dependence of the drag coefficient on the lift coefficient. It may be described by an equation or displayed in a diagram called a polar plot.

Aerodynamics has undoubtedly been one of the main interests of the Eiffel Tower. Gustave Eiffel began his own investigations into the effects of a solid body moving through the air. 

Several test methods had been used by various experimenters, including drop testing, whirling arms, and rudimentary wind tunnels (although the term “wind tunnel” would not appear until later), but most of these techniques were very primitive, and they yielded inconsistent results.

 Eiffel applied his engineering knowledge and experience to two of these methods, and he produced what arguably are the most sophisticated drop-testing apparatuses ever constructed and some of the most capable and consistently performing early wind tunnels. 

Eiffel designed these devices with specific research programs in mind. Unlike many of his contemporaries who tried to build gliders and flying machines based on unproven notions, Eiffel realized that certain basic information about how solid bodies and air interact would be crucial to success.

Regarding the fall of the bodies and the resistance of the air, the Eiffel Tower has been of great use. It was from the laboratory that Eiffel had installed on the second floor.

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