Question

At its widest point, the diameter of a bottlenose dolphin is 0.50 m. Bottlenose dolphins are particularly sleek, having a drag coefficient of only about 0.090. a. What is the drag force acting on such a dolphin swimming at 7.5 m/s? b. Using the dolphin’s diameter as its characteristic length, what is the Reynolds number as it swims at this speed in 20° C water?

Answer 1

Answer:

497.00977 N

3742514.97005

Explanation:

$\rho$ = Density of water = 1000 kg/m³

C = Drag coefficient = 0.09

v = Velocity of dolphin = 7.5 m/s

r = Radius of bottlenose dolphin = 0.5/2 = 0.25 m

A = Area

Drag force

$F_d=\frac{1}{2}\rho CAv^2\\\Rightarrow F_d=\frac{1}{2}\times 1000 \times 0.09(\pi 0.25^2)7.5^2\\\Rightarrow F_d=497.00977\ N$

The drag force on the dolphin's nose is 497.00977 N

at 20°C

$\mu$ = Dynamic viscosity = $1.002\times 10^{-3}\ Pas$

Reynold's Number

$Re=\frac{\rho vd}{\mu}\\\Rightarrow Re=\frac{1000\times 7.5\times 0.5}{1.002\times 10^{-3}}\\\Rightarrow Re=3742514.97005$

The Reynolds number is 3742514.97005