Calculating Lifting Force and Wing Size for an Airplane - Need Help!

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on calculating the lifting force and required wing size for an airplane based on airfoil principles. The participant, "Totally Lost," attempts to apply Bernoulli's principle but encounters a negative distance in their calculations, indicating a misunderstanding of fluid dynamics. The response emphasizes that the model used is flawed, as fluids do not necessarily converge at the trailing edge of the wing and do not follow a constant velocity distribution. This highlights the need for a more accurate approach to understanding lift generation in aerodynamics.

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  • Understanding of airfoil design and characteristics
  • Familiarity with Bernoulli's principle and fluid dynamics
  • Basic knowledge of physics, particularly forces and motion
  • Proficiency in unit conversions, especially between imperial and metric systems
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Aerospace engineers, physics students, and anyone interested in the principles of aerodynamics and aircraft design will benefit from this discussion.

celtchic
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Hi everyone…I have a airplane question:

Q: The profile of a particular airplane wing is such that the distance air has to move to traverse the top of the wing is 20% greater than the distance the air must travel to traverse the bottom of the wing. (This shape is an “airfoil”.) If air is flowing steadily across the wing, then the air molecules that part ways (one to go over the top of the wing and one to go across the bottom of the wing) at the leading edge of the wing must come back together again at the trailing edge.

Calculate the lifting force generated per square foot if the wing is moving through the air at 200 mph (airspeed measured across the bottom of the wing). What size wing (in square feet) is needed to support a 3000 lb aircraft?

A: Bottom: P+½pv^2= Top: P+½v^2 because the pgy^2 cancel out
Substitute for p= (F*d)/vol

Top: v=107.28m/s; 9.8*1361.8kg=13346N; 3000lb=1361.8kg
Bottom: v=89.4m/s; F=13346N; M=13346N

13345.6N*d/vol + (.5*1361.5kg*(89.34m/s^)2)/vol= 13346N*1.2d/vol +(.5*1361.8kg*(107.28m/s)^2)/vol

-2.6696N*d = 2394479Nm
d=-896m

I think that I am on the wrong track because I came out with a negative distance. Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Signed,

Totally Lost.
 
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Also, be aware that despite what your professor or (I hope not) textbook say, what you are solving for here is NOT the way that Bernoulli works.

Fluids are fluids, and as such, do not need to meet up at the end. In fact, they usually do not. They also do not follow a constant (or even linearly varying) velocity distribution - not even to a first approximation.

The problem you're solving is a bogus model.
 

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