Aerodynamic Shape, Scaling Law of Drag and Terminal Speed of the Dandelion
preprint
OA: closed
CC-BY-4.0
Abstract
The common dandelion uses a bundle of drag-enhancing bristles (the pappus) that enables seed dispersal over formidable distances; however, the scaling laws of aerodynamic drag underpinning pappus-mediated flight remains unresolved. In this paper, we study the aerodynamic shape of dandelion, derive the scaling law of resistance, determine the Vogel exponent. In particular, we find that the total drag coefficient is proportional to the -2/3 power of the dandelion pappus Reynolds number, and obtain the terminal velocity of the dandelion seed under gravitation field.
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Source provenance
- europepmc
- last seen: 2026-05-19T01:45:01.086888+00:00
- unpaywall
- last seen: 2026-05-24T02:00:01.246996+00:00
License: CC-BY-4.0