Hudson River accident. Friction on water

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the analysis of the Hudson River incident involving an Airbus A320, specifically examining the forces acting on the aircraft as it contacted the water. The aircraft's maximum takeoff weight is 73,500 kg, and it traveled at approximately 67 meters per second before coming to a stop after 5 seconds, resulting in a calculated acceleration of -13.4 m/s². The key distinction made is that the resistive force exerted by water is classified as drag, not friction, as friction pertains to solid-on-solid interactions. The concept of skin friction is introduced as a relevant factor in understanding drag in fluid dynamics.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic physics concepts, particularly Newton's laws of motion.
  • Familiarity with fluid dynamics, specifically the principles of drag and skin friction.
  • Knowledge of the Airbus A320 specifications, including weight and performance metrics.
  • Ability to perform calculations involving acceleration and resistive forces.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the principles of fluid dynamics, focusing on drag forces and skin friction.
  • Study the equations of motion to better understand acceleration and deceleration in fluid interactions.
  • Explore the differences between drag and friction in various contexts, particularly in aviation.
  • Investigate real-world applications of drag calculations in aviation safety and accident analysis.
USEFUL FOR

Aviation students, physics enthusiasts, and professionals involved in accident analysis or fluid dynamics will benefit from this discussion, particularly those interested in the forces acting on aircraft during water landings.

MikeyMike
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Homework Statement


I am in an introductory physics course. I am an aviation student, and we have to present on something related to our major. My group decided to go with an analysis on the Hudson River incident.

I am trying to figure out the force of friction the water had on the aircraft. What I do have
1) Airbus A320 Max Takeoff weight is 73500kg. The aircraft incident was only a few minutes after takeoff so we can use this number
2) The speed of the aircraft right before contact with the water is about 67 meters per second.
3) The aircraft moved along the water for about 5 seconds before coming to a complete stop. If my math was correct, this gave the aircraft an acceleration of about -13.4m/s^2 Southbound
(The distance traveled across the water is unknown)



Homework Equations


This is one of the problems I am having. I can only find equations and friction properties for solid on solid. This is where I need help.



The Attempt at a Solution


My attempt at the solution is what was posted above. Again, were going ahead of ourselves with this one and I'm hoping one of you can at least point me in the right direction.
 
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The resistive force that water exerts is called drag, not friction. Friction occurs between two solid objects, and water being a liquid, behaves differently. You would be able to calculate the resistive force that water put on the plane, but there isn't a coefficient of friction to find.
 
Confusingly, drag on the surface of a liquid is sometimes called 'skin friction' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitic_drag#Skin_friction).
The principal difference between that and solid-solid friction is that the latter is (generally) taken to be independent of speed, whereas drag/skin friction almost surely is not.
 

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