The pressure coefficient is a dimensionless quantity of interest to aerodynamicists.
The pressure coefficient is defined as:
p - p0 = q . Cp
where:
Cp is the dimensionless pressure coefficient
p is the pressure due to the movement of the body through the fluid
p0 is the free stream fluid pressure
p - p0 is known as the gauge pressure
q is the free stream fluid dynamic pressure from Bernoulli's equation:
q = 1/2 rho . V2
where:
rho is the fluid density
V is the free stream fluid speed
Pressure Coefficient Comparison Between Calculation (lines) and Experiment Around an Airfoil
You will often see pressure coefficient plots of numerical calculations compared with wind tunnel experimental data as a means to judge the accuracy of the numerical technique used. This type of comparison is often referred to as a validation.
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