Source: Ricardo Mejia-Alvarez and Hussam Hikmat Jabbar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI The goal of this experiment is to demonstrate how a fluid flow exerts forces on structures by conversion of dynamic pressure into static pressure. To this end, we will make a plane jet impinge on a flat plate and will measure the resulting pressure distribution along the plate. The resultant force will be estimated by integrating the product between the pressure distribution and appropriately defined area differentials along the surface of the plate. This experiment will be repeated for two angles of inclination of the plate with respect to the direction of the jet and two flow rates. Each configuration produces a different pressure distribution along the plate, which is the result of different levels of conversion of dynamic pressure into static pressure at the plate's surface. For this experiment, pressure will be measured with a diaphragm pressure transducer connected to a scanning valve. The plate itself has small perforations called pressure taps that connect to the scanning valve through hoses. The scanning valve sends the pressure from these taps to the pressure transducer one at a time. The pressure induces mechanical deflection on the diaphragm that the pressure transducer converts into voltage. This voltage is proportional to the pressure difference between the two sides of the diaphragm.