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Work and Flued Forces

Chapter 6 discusses the concepts of work and fluid forces, defining work in scientific terms as a force acting on an object leading to displacement. It covers calculations for work done by constant and variable forces, including applications of Hooke's Law for springs and work in lifting objects. Additionally, the chapter introduces moments and centers of mass for systems of masses along a line and in two dimensions.

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9 views6 pages

Work and Flued Forces

Chapter 6 discusses the concepts of work and fluid forces, defining work in scientific terms as a force acting on an object leading to displacement. It covers calculations for work done by constant and variable forces, including applications of Hooke's Law for springs and work in lifting objects. Additionally, the chapter introduces moments and centers of mass for systems of masses along a line and in two dimensions.

Uploaded by

jonkhoji
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHAPTER 6

Work and Fluid Forces


In everyday life, work means an activity that requires muscular or mental effort. In
science, the term refers specifically to a force acting on an object and the object’s
subsequent displacement. This section shows how to calculate work.

1.1 Work Done by a Constant Force

When an object moves a distance d along a straight line as a result of being acted on by
a force of constant magnitude F in the direction of motion, we define the work W done
by the force on the object with the formula

W=F*d (Constant-force formula for work)

EXAMPLE:
Suppose you jack up the side of a 2000-lb car 1.25 ft to change a tire. The jack applies a
constant vertical force of about 1000 lb in lifting the side of the car (but because of the
mechanical advantage of the jack, the force you apply to the jack itself is only about 30
lb). The total work performed by the jack on the car is 1000 * 1.25 = 1250 ft-lb. In SI
units, the jack has applied a force of 4448 N through a distance of 0.381 m to do 4448 *
0.381 ≈ 1695 J of work.

1.2 Work Done by a Variable Force Along a Line

If the force you apply varies along the way, as it will if you are stretching or
compressing a spring, the formula W = F * d has to be replaced by an integral formula
that takes the variation in F into account.
The work done by a variable force F(x) in moving an object along the x-axis from x = a
to x = b is
𝒃
W = ∫𝒂 𝑭(𝒙) 𝒅𝒙.
The units of the integral are joules if F is in newtons and x is in meters, and foot-pounds
if F is in pounds and x is in feet.

EXAMPLE:
The work done by a force of F(x) = 1/x2 newtons in moving an object along the x-axis
from x = 1 m to x = 10 m is

10 𝟏 𝟏𝟎 𝟏
W = ∫1 1/x2 𝒅𝒙 = − | = − + 𝟏 = 0.9 J
𝒙 𝟏 𝟏𝟎

1.3 Hooke’s Law for Springs: F = kx

One calculation for work arises in finding the work required to stretch or compress a
spring. Hooke’s Law says that the force required to hold a stretched or compressed spring
x units from its natural (unstressed) length is proportional to x. In symbols,

F = kx

The constant k, measured in force units per unit length, is a characteristic of the spring,
called the force constant (or spring constant) of the spring. Hooke’s Law, Equation, gives
good results as long as the force doesn’t distort the metal in the spring.

EXAMPLE:
Find the work required to compress a spring from its natural length of 1 ft to a length of
0.75 ft if the force constant is k = 16 lb/ft.
Solution
We picture the uncompressed spring laid out along the x-axis with its movable end at the
origin and its fixed end at x = 1 ft. This enables us to describe the force required to
compress the spring from 0 to x with the formula F = 16x. To compress the spring from 0
to 0.25 ft, the force must increase from

F(0) = 16 *0 = 0 lb to F(0.25) = 16 * 0.25 = 4 lb.


The work done by F over this interval is
0.25
W = ∫0 16x dx = 8x 2 |0.25
0 = 0.5 ft-lb.

1.3 Lifting Objects and Pumping Liquids from Containers

The work integral is useful to calculate the work done in lifting objects whose weights
vary with their elevation.
EXAMPLE:
A 5-lb bucket is lifted from the ground into the air by pulling in 20 ft of rope at a constant
speed. The rope weighs 0.08 lb/ft. How much work was spent lifting the bucket and rope?
Solution
The bucket has constant weight, so the work done lifting it alone is
weight * distance = 5 * 20 = 100 ft-lb.
The weight of the rope varies with the bucket’s elevation, because less of it is freely
hanging. When the bucket is x ft off the ground, the remaining proportion of the rope still
being lifted weights (0.08) *(20 - x) lb. So, the work in lifting the rope is
20 20
Work on rope = ∫0 0.08*(20 - x) dx = ∫0 (1.6 – 0.08x) dx

= (1.6x - 0.04x 2 ) |20


0 = 32 – 16 = 16 ft-lb.
The total work for the bucket and rope combined is
100 + 16 = 116 ft-lb.

1.4 Moments and Centers of Mass

1.4.1 Masses Along a Line


We develop our mathematical model in stages. The first stage is to imagine masses m1,
m2, and m3 on a rigid x-axis supported by a fulcrum at the origin.

Along the line, mass m1 at point x1, mass m2 at x2 and m3 at x3,

System torque = m1gx1 + m2gx2 + m3gx3


The system will balance if and only if its torque is zero.
0 = (m1x1 + m2x2 + m3x3) * g → 0 = (m1x1 + m2x2 + m3x3)
The number (m1x1 + m2x2 + m3x3) is called the moment of the system about the
origin.
M0 = Moment of system about origin = ∑ 𝒎𝒌 𝒙𝒌
We usually want to know where to place the fulcrum to make the system balance, that
is, at what point x to place it to make the torques add to zero.
∑𝑚𝑘 𝑥𝑘 system moment about the origin
𝑥̅ = = . The point 𝑥̅ is called the system’s
∑𝑚𝑘 system mass
center of mass.

1.4.2 Masses Distributed over a Plane Region 2D

Suppose that we have a finite collection of masses located in the plane, with mass mk at
the point (xk, yk). The mass of the system is

System mass: M = ∑ 𝒎𝒌

1.4.3 Thin, Flat Plates

In many applications, we need to find the center of mass of a thin, flat plate.
EXAMPLE:
A triangular plate has a constant density of δ = 3 g/cm2. Find
(a) the plate’s moment My about the y-axis.
(b) the plate’s mass M.
(c) the x-coordinate of the plate’s center of mass (c.m.).
Solution

1.4.4 Plates Bounded by Two Curves

Suppose a plate covers a region that lies between two curves y = g(x) and y = ƒ(x),
where ƒ(x) ≥ g(x) and a ≤ x ≤ b. The typical vertical strip has:
EXAMPLE:
Find the center of mass for the thin plate bounded by the curves g(x) = x/2 and ƒ(x) =
√𝑥, 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 with the density function δ(x) = x2.

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