Dynamics

Colin McDonald, PhD

February 15th, 2013

Chapter14:KineticsofaParticle:
WorkandEnergy
o Chapter Objectives:
Calculate the work of a force
Apply the principle of work and energy to a particle or system
of particles
Determine the power generated by a machine, engine, or
motor
Calculate the mechanical efficiency of a machine
Understand the concept of conservative forces and determine
the potential energy of such forces
Apply the principle of conservation of energy

14.5 ConservativeForcesand
PotentialEnergy

Applications
o The weight of the sacks resting on this platform causes potential
energy to be stored in the supporting springs
o As each sack is removed, the platform will rise slightly since
some of the potential energy within the springs will be
transformed into an increase in gravitational potential energy of
the remaining sacks
o If the sacks weigh 100 lb and the
equivalent spring constant is k = 500
lb/ft, what is the energy stored in the
springs?

Applications
o The roller coaster is released from rest at the top of the hill A. As
the coaster moves down the hill, potential energy is transformed
into kinetic energy
o What is the velocity of the coaster when it is at B and C?
o Also, how can we determine the minimum height of hill A so that
the car travels around both inside loops without leaving track?

ConservativeForce
o A conservative force is one whose work is independent of the
path followed, depending only on the forces initial and final
positions on the path
Examples:
Weight of a particle: work done by weight depends only
vertical displacement
Force developed by a spring: spring force depends only
on the springs elongation or compression
o A non-conservative force is one whose work depends on the
path followed
Example:
Friction force: the longer the path, the greater the work

Energy
o Recall: the energy of a particle has two components:
Kinetic energy: measure of particles capacity to do work
Associated with the motion of the particle
Potential energy: measure of the amount of work a
conservative force will do when it moves from a given
position to some datum
Associated with the position of the particle measured
from a fixed datum
o Two types of potential energy are important in mechanics:
Potential energy created by gravity (weight)
Potential energy created by an elastic spring
o The conservative potential energy of a particle/system is typically
written using the potential function V

GravitationalPotentialEnergy
o The potential function for a gravitational force (Vg), e.g., weight
(W = mg), is the force multiplied by its elevation from a datum:
Eq. (14-13)

o If a particle is located a distance y

above an arbitrary datum:
The particles weight has positive
gravitational potential energy
i.e., W has the capacity of doing
positive work when the particle
is moved back to the datum
o Similarly, if a particle is located a
distance y below this arbitrary datum
Vg is negative

ElasticPotentialEnergy
o When an elastic spring is elongated or compressed a distance s
from its un-stretched position, elastic potential energy (Ve) is
stored in the spring:
This energy is:
Eq. (14-14)

o Elastic potential energy is always

positive
When deformed, the force of
the spring has the capacity for
always doing positive work on
the particle when returned to its
initial position

PotentialFunction
o In general, if a particle is subjected to both gravitational and
elastic forces, the particles potential energy can be expressed
as a potential function:
Eq. (14-15)

V depends on the location of the particle with respect to a

selected datum
o The work done by a conservative force in moving the particle
from one point to another point is measured by the difference of
this function, that is:

PotentialFunction
o For example, if a particle of weight W is suspended from a
spring, the potential function is written as:
1
2
o If the particle is moved from position s1
(relative to a selected datum located at its
un-stretched length) to a new position s2:
The work of the particles weight and
the spring force is:

14.6 ConservationofEnergy

ConservationofEnergy
o When a particle is acted upon by a system of conservative forces,
the work done by these forces is conserved
i.e., the sum of the kinetic and potential energies remains
constant
o This is referred to as the conservation of energy, and is written
mathematically as:
Eq. (14-21)

Where:
T1 and T2: kinetic energies at states 1 and 2 (
V1 and V2: potential energies at states 1 and 2

ConservationofEnergy
o For example, if a ball of weight W is dropped from a height h
above the ground (datum):
At height h: potential energy is max, kinetic energy is zero
Just before hitting ground: potential energy is zero and kinetic
energy is related to the mass of the ball and its velocity
In each case, the total
energy* is:

*Refer to the text for a proof of

this equation

ProblemExampleI
o Given: a girl weighing 125-lbs rides a bicycle from point A to B
Velocity at A is 10 ft/s, girl stops pedaling at A
o Find: the velocity and the normal force at B

ProblemExampleII
o Given: the 4 kg collar, C, has a velocity of 2 m/s at A
The spring constant is 400 N/m
The un-stretched length of the spring is 0.2 m
o Find: the velocity of the collar at B