Home Work Problem

Chapter One
Thermodynamics MIE 210
Problem 1:
A hydraulic jack, as shown in the sketch below, in a scrap yard is used to bring vehicles to a desired
height after they are placed onto it by a crane. The end of the jack onto which the vehicle is placed has a
linear spring with a spring constant of k N/m connected to it to assist with stable lifting. The other end of
the spring is connected to the ground. The spring is in its neutral position before the vehicle is placed on
the jack (ie the spring is neither compressed nor stretched) and is compressed by the weight of the vehicle
after it is placed on the jack by the crane. The hydraulic fluid is incompressible and well sealed inside the
jack by two cylinders with different cross-sectional areas. The piston onto which the force is applied has
an area of As m2 and the piston used to lift the vehicle has an area of Al m2. The pressure inside the jack
can be assumed constant. The mass of the various components of the jack can be neglected and the only
mass that need be considered for this problem is that of the vehicle lifted.

For the two cases of (a) without the spring and (b) with the spring, obtain an expression for the force
needed, as a function of vehicle mass, needed to bring the vehicle to a height H m below the springs
uncompressed position. Assume that whatever vehicle would be placed on the jack would not cause the
spring to fully compress. Now, with a range of Ms kg to Ml kg, plot the force needed to bring the vehicle
to this height vs. vehicle mass. Plot one curve for case (a) and another for case (b). Use Ms=1000 kg (to
represent a small vehicle) and Ml=50,000 kg (to represent a large truck), k=5000 N/m, As=0.01m2,
Al=1m2, H=1.5m.