How to Calculate Thrust for an Airplane Takeoff?

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    Airplane Thrust
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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the thrust required for an Airbus A320 jetliner during takeoff, given its mass, takeoff speed, and time to reach that speed. The problem involves concepts from dynamics, specifically Newton's second law and frictional forces.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate thrust by first determining acceleration and then applying it to find thrust without considering friction. They later include friction in their calculations but express uncertainty about their results. Other participants question the friction value used and discuss the net force equation.

Discussion Status

Participants are exploring different interpretations of the problem, particularly regarding the role of friction in the thrust calculation. Some guidance has been offered in the form of clarifying the net force equation, but there is no explicit consensus on the correct approach or values.

Contextual Notes

There is mention of the need to consider rolling friction and the significance of significant figures in the calculations, indicating constraints in the problem setup.

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Homework Statement



An Airbus A320 jetliner has a takeoff mass of 75,000 kg. It reaches its takeoff speed of 82 m/s in 35s.

Homework Equations



F=ma
V/t=a

The Attempt at a Solution



I am completely lost on this question. I have seen numerous examples on the internet, with the exact problem, but no one has gotten the correct answer. After two hours and 20+ wrong answers I gave up and opted to see the answer. However, I would like to know how it was solved. Here is what I did that got me close to the right answer.

Solved for acceleration indepentant of friction. Which was 82/35 giving me 2.343m/s^2.

I plugged that in for f(thrust)=ma -> (75,000)(2.343) = 175,725 N.

This is too low and doesn't involve rolling friction. From a table in my book I figured rolling friction was 0.020 for rubber on concrete. I then solved for the friction.

m=75,000
g=9.80
f=0.020

F=ma -> F=(75,000)(9.80)(0.020) = 14,700N

Since the thrust will have to include overcoming friction the whole time, I add those two values and get 190,425 N.

This is the only way I can come close to the actual answer. I've done it a bunch of different ways, none were within 20k of the answer.

How should one actually solve this?

The answer given is 190,000N.
 
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[tex]F =/= ma[/tex]
[tex]F_{net}=ma[/tex]

So expanding Fnet gives us
[tex]F_t -F_f = ma[/tex]
Plugging everything in gives us a thrust of 190 000 N.
 
Did I have the value for friction right?

Because using my values and your expansion, I get the same answer I had before...
 
I would imagine the answer is using two sig figs since all numbers are given with two sig figs.
 
That makes sense, thanks for the help. I'll try the problem again later and see if I remember it.
 

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