Question

In 1923, the United States Army set a record for in-flight refueling of airplanes. Using two refueling planes, an Airco DH-4B biplane was able to remain in flight for 37 hours. During the flight, the refueling planes were able to air-transfer a total of 687 gallons of fuel to the plane in 9 refueling transfers. Assume that the refueling nozzle had a diameter of 1.55 inches and each refueling took 2.51 minutes to perform. Calculate the velocity using Poiseuille's equation.

Answer 1

The question asks to calculate fuel transfer velocity using Poiseuille's equation, but necessary data such as fluid properties and pressure difference are not provided. An estimate of average flow rate can be calculated by dividing the total fuel volume by total refueling time, resulting in approximately 30.42 gallons per minute.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question pertains to the historical event in 1923 when an Airco DH-4B biplane was kept airborne for 37 hours through multiple in-flight refuelings and seeks to calculate the velocity of fuel transfer using Poiseuille's equation. Poiseuille's equation is not provided in the question, and to properly calculate the velocity of the fuel transfer, the fluid dynamics properties of fuel, such as its viscosity, and the pressure difference during refueling would be needed, none of which are provided. Therefore, a precise velocity calculation using Poiseuille's equation is not feasible with the given information. However, we can estimate the average flow rate by dividing the total volume of fuel transferred (687 gallons) by the total refueling time (9 transfers × 2.51 minutes per transfer).

To calculate the average flow rate (Q), use the following formula:

Q = Volume / Time
Q = 687 gallons / (9 × 2.51 minutes)
Q = 687 gallons / 22.59 minutes
Q = 30.42 gallons/minute

This flow rate represents the average volume of fuel transferred per minute during the in-flight refueling process.