Free fall velocity of object under water

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the impact force of a free-falling metal cylinder under water, factoring in drag forces. The user employs the work-energy principle and attempts to incorporate drag using two equations: Stokes' law and a drag equation based on fluid dynamics. They express the balance of forces as mg = Fb + Fd, where buoyancy and drag are considered against the weight of the cylinder. The user derives two equations for velocity but finds that one yields non-physical results, while the other is plausible. They seek constructive feedback on their approach and the applicability of the equations used.
jayzedkay
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
I posted this problem in another section, but it seems to have fizzled out and I’m trying to solve it, so resurrected it here hopefully to get somewhere.

I’m trying to calculate the impact force of a free falling cylinder of metal under water accounting for the drag. The cylinder is restricted to vertical falling, so cannot tumble down so to speak.

I started with the work energy principle and net work done to calculate the impact force, but now I am trying to include the drag from the water.

I got a couple of equations, one being stokes Fd = 6PIuvd and the other being Fd = 0.5CpAv^2.

Using the principle that the forces of buoyancy and drag are equal to the force of it falling; mg=Fb+Fd, I started to try and work things out.

Buoyancy force I used is the displaced fluid weight times the accel due to gravity. So here I used;

Fb = volume of cylinder X density of fluid X accel due to gravity = PIr^2hpg

For drag I used either Fd = 6PIuvd or Fd = 0.5CpAv^2 in each calculation.
I rewrote the equations with all the available parameters:

mg = PIr^2hpg + 6PIuvd

or

mg = PIr^2hg +0.5CpAv^2

I then rearranged for velocity, my objective is to isolate velocity inclusive of drag, then I can use that new calculated velocity in the original work energy principle and get the new impact force. So I get;

v = [ (m*g) – PI*r^2*h*p*g ] / 6*PI*u*d (eqn1).

Or

v = sqrt{ 2*[ (m*g) – PI*r^2*h*p*g ] / C*p*A } (eqn2).

I used the following for the parameters;

m = mass of metal cylinder, I used 10kg
g = acceleration due to gravity (9.8m/s^2)
PI = 3.1416
r = radius of cylinder, I used 7.5cm
h = height/length of cylinder, I used 30cm
p = density of fluid, I used 1000kg/m^3
u = viscosity of fluid, I used 0.00179 Pa.s
C = drag coefficient of cylinder, I used 0.82
d = diameter of cylinder, I used 15cm
A = cross sectional area of cylinder

Eqn1 doesn’t give me physically possible number as answer (>9k), eqn 2 could be, i.e. it’s less than 9.8, which I’d expect. Things fall slower under water than in air.

Am I going about it the right way, if not, where am I going wrong etc.

Thanks in advance for help/pointers etc.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
How r u going to use stokes' law it is for sphere
 
you can see how i intended on using it in my post? rightly or wrongly, probably. as that one gives me non-physical answer? my other drag equation seems to be more suitable, but I'm not sure I'm going about it the right way. so trying whatever i can get my hands on really. i'd appreciate a more constructive/practical critiscm really? anyone else add some informative info to my problem?
thanks in advance.
 
The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
Thread 'Beam on an inclined plane'
Hello! I have a question regarding a beam on an inclined plane. I was considering a beam resting on two supports attached to an inclined plane. I was almost sure that the lower support must be more loaded. My imagination about this problem is shown in the picture below. Here is how I wrote the condition of equilibrium forces: $$ \begin{cases} F_{g\parallel}=F_{t1}+F_{t2}, \\ F_{g\perp}=F_{r1}+F_{r2} \end{cases}. $$ On the other hand...
Back
Top