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

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The discussion revolves around calculating the lifting force and wing size for an airplane based on the unique airfoil shape described. The user is attempting to apply Bernoulli's principle but encounters a negative distance in their calculations, indicating a potential error in their approach. Another participant points out that the model being used is flawed, as fluids do not necessarily converge at the trailing edge and do not follow a consistent velocity distribution. This highlights the complexity of fluid dynamics in aerodynamics and suggests that the original question may be based on incorrect assumptions. The conversation emphasizes the need for a more accurate understanding of fluid behavior in relation to lift generation.
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.
 
The book claims the answer is that all the magnitudes are the same because "the gravitational force on the penguin is the same". I'm having trouble understanding this. I thought the buoyant force was equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. Weight depends on mass which depends on density. Therefore, due to the differing densities the buoyant force will be different in each case? Is this incorrect?

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