Airflow

Airflow, or air flow, is the movement of air. The primary cause of airflow is the existence of air. Air behaves in a fluid manner, meaning particles naturally flow from areas of higher pressure to those where the pressure is lower. Atmospheric air pressure is directly related to altitude, temperature, and composition. In engineering, airflow is a measurement of the amount of air per unit of time that flows through a particular device. It can be described as a volumetric flow rate (volume of air per unit time) or a mass flow rate (mass of air per unit time). What relates both forms of description is the air density, which is a function of pressure and temperature through the ideal gas law. The flow of air can be induced through mechanical means (such as by operating an electric or manual fan) or can take place passively, as a function of pressure differentials present in the environment. Like any fluid, air may exhibit both laminar and turbulent flow patterns. Laminar flow occurs when air can flow smoothly, and exhibits a parabolic velocity profile; turbulent flow occurs when there is an irregularity (such as a disruption in the surface across which the fluid is flowing), which alters the direction of movement. Turbulent flow exhibits a flat velocity profile. Velocity profiles of fluid movement describe the spatial distribution of instantaneous velocity vectors across a given cross section. The size and shape of the geometric configuration that the fluid is traveling through, the fluid properties (such as viscosity), physical disruptions to the flow, and engineered components (e.g. pumps) that add energy to the flow are factors that determine what the velocity profile looks like. Generally, in encased flows, instantaneous velocity vectors are larger in magnitude in the middle of the profile due to the effect of friction from the material of the pipe, duct, or channel walls on nearby layers of fluid. In tropospheric atmospheric flows, velocity increases with elevation from ground level due to friction from obstructions like trees and hills slowing down airflow near the surface.