CD_CLIFT

Computes the drag coefficient of a smooth sphere from the particle Reynolds number using the piecewise Clift correlation. Different empirical expressions are selected across Reynolds-number intervals to capture regime-dependent drag.

C_D = f(Re)

Excel Usage

=CD_CLIFT(Re)

• Re (float, required): Particle Reynolds number [-]

Returns (float): Drag coefficient [-], or error message (str) if input is invalid.

Example 1: Reynolds number of 200

Inputs:

Re
200

Excel formula:

=CD_CLIFT(200)

Expected output:

0.775634

Example 2: Reynolds number of 1000

Inputs:

Re
1000

Excel formula:

=CD_CLIFT(1000)

Expected output:

0.471086

Example 3: Reynolds number of 100000

Inputs:

Re
100000

Excel formula:

=CD_CLIFT(100000)

Expected output:

0.501765

Example 4: High Reynolds number (500000)

Inputs:

Re
500000

Excel formula:

=CD_CLIFT(500000)

Expected output:

0.592804

Python Code

Show Code

from fluids.drag import Clift as fluids_Clift

def cd_clift(Re):
    """
    Calculate drag coefficient of a sphere using the Clift correlation.

    See: https://fluids.readthedocs.io/fluids.drag.html#fluids.drag.Clift

    This example function is provided as-is without any representation of accuracy.

    Args:
        Re (float): Particle Reynolds number [-]

    Returns:
        float: Drag coefficient [-], or error message (str) if input is invalid.
    """
    try:
      Re = float(Re)
      if Re <= 0:
        return "Error: Re must be positive."

      result = fluids_Clift(Re=Re)
      if result != result:  # NaN check
        return "Error: Calculation resulted in NaN."
      return float(result)
    except (ValueError, TypeError):
      return "Error: Re must be a number."
    except Exception as e:
      return f"Error: {str(e)}"

Online Calculator

Re *

Particle Reynolds number [-]