Engineering

Chapter 3: Kinetics of Particle:

Work and Energy

Work of a Force
Principle of Work and Energy
Power and Efficiency
Conservative Forces and Potential Energy
Conservation of Energy
Topic Learning Outcomes
Students should be able to:
1. Develop the principle of work and energy and apply it to
solve problems that involve force, velocity and
displacement.
2. Solve any problems related to power and efficiency.
3. Introduce the concept of a conservative force.
4. Apply the theorem of conservation of energy to solve
kinetic problems.

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 Work of a Force
A force F does work on a particle only when the particle undergoes a
displacement in the direction of the force.
The work dU done by the force F in displacing
a particle dr is a scalar quantity define by
dU F dr Fds cos
where ds = |dr| and is the angle between the
tails of dr and F.
If 0 90, the force component and the
displacement has the same sense and
therefore the work is positive.

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 3

 Work of a Force
If 90 180, the force component and the displacement has
negative sense and therefore the work is negative.
The work dU = 0 if
i. the force is perpendicular to the
displacement, i.e. = 90.
ii. the force is applied at a fixed point where
displacement is zero.
The SI unit for work is joule (J). 1 joule of
work is done when a force of 1 Newton
moves a particle 1 meter along its line of
action (1 J = 1 Nm).

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 Work of a Force
Work of a Variable Force

If the particle undergoes a finite displacement along its path from r1 to

r2 or s1 to s2, the work is determined by integration

If F is a function of position, this becomes

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 5

 Work of a Force
Work of a Constant Force Moving Along a Straight Line
If both F and are constant (F = Fc), U is further simplified to

Work of a Weight
The work done by the gravitational force acting on a particle (or weight
of an object) can be calculated by using

U1 2 W dy W y2 y1 W y
y2

y1
The work of a weight is the product of the magnitude of the particles
weight and its vertical displacement. If y is upward, the work is
negative since the weight force always acts downward. If y is
downward, the work is positive.
Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 6
 Work of a Force
Work of a Spring Force (Work Done ON the Spring)
When stretched, a linear elastic spring develops a force of magnitude
Fs = ks, where k is the spring stiffness and s is the displacement from
the unstretched position.
If the spring is elongated or compressed from a position s1 to s2, the
work done on spring by Fs is positive, since force and displacement
are in the same direction.
The work done by Fs is defined as

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 Work of a Force
Work of a Spring Force (Work Done on a Particle Attached to a Spring)

If a particle is attached to the spring, the force Fs exerted on the

particle is opposite to that exerted on the spring. Thus, the work
done on the particle by the spring force will be negative or

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 8

 Work of a Force
Example 1:

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 9

 Work of a Force
Example 1 (Solution):

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 10

 Work of a Force
Example 1 (Solution):

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 11

 Work of a Force
Example 1 (Solution):

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 12

 Principle of Work and Energy
The equation for the principle of work and energy for particle is

where
,

represent the kinetic energy of the particle at Point 1 and Point 2,

respectively. The term U1-2 represents the work done by all the forces
acting on the particle as the particle moves from Point 1 and Point 2.
The particles initial kinetic energy plus the work done by all the forces
acting on the particle as it moves from its initial to final position is equal
to the particles final kinetic energy. Like work, kinetic energy is a scalar
and has unit of joule (J). However, unlike work, the kinetic energy is
always positive regardless of the direction of motion of the particle.

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 Principle of Work and Energy
The principle of work and energy can be extended to include a system of
particles isolated within an enclosed region of space. Since work and
energy are scalar quantities, the equations can be summed algebraically
to yield

This equation states that the initial kinetic energy of the system plus the
work done by the forces acting on the system is equal to the final kinetic
energy of the system.

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 Principle of Work and Energy
Example 2:

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 15

 Principle of Work and Energy
Example 2 (Solution):

16
 Principle of Work and Energy
Example 2 (Solution):

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 Power and Efficiency
Power is defined as the amount of work performed per unit of time. The
power generated by a machine or engine that performs an amount of
work dU within a time interval dt is

Since the work can be expressed as dU = F dr, the power can be

written

where v is the velocity of the point which is acted upon by the force F.
Power is a scalar with SI unit of watt (W).

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 Power and Efficiency
The mechanical efficiency of a machine is defined as the ratio of the
output of useful power produced by the machine to the input of power
supplied to the machine. Hence,

If energy supplied to the machine occurs during the same time interval
at which it is drawn, then the efficiency may also be expressed in terms
of the ratio

Machines will always have frictional forces. Since frictional forces would
dissipate energy, additional power will be required to overcome these
forces. Consequently, the efficiency of a machine is always less than 1.

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 Principle of Work and Energy
Example 3:

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 20

 Principle of Work and Energy
Example 3 (Solution):

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 21

 Principle of Work and Energy
Example 3 (Solution):

Kinetics of Particle: Work and Energy 22

 Principle of Work and Energy
Example 3 (Solution):

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 Conservative Forces and Potential Energy
Conservative Force
When the work done by a force in moving a particle from one point to
another is independent of the path followed by the particle, then this force
is called a conservative force. e.g.,
i. The work done by the weight of a particle is independent of the path of the
particle i.e., the work done depends only on particles vertical
displacement.
ii. The work done by a spring force acting on a particle is independent of the
path of the particle i.e., it depends only on the extension or compression
of the spring.
iii. In contrast, we note that the force of friction exerted on a moving object by
a fixed surface depends on the path of the object i.e., the longer the path,
the greater the work. Consequently, frictional forces are nonconservative.

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 Conservative Forces and Potential Energy
Potential Energy
Potential energy is a measure of the amount of work a conservative
force will do when it moves from a given position to a reference datum.

i. Gravitational Potential Energy

The gravitational potential energy of a particle of
weight W is

If a particle is located a distance y above an

arbitrarily selected datum, the particles weight W
has positive gravitational energy vg since W has
the capacity of doing positive work when the
particle is moved back down to the datum.
Likewise, if the particle is located a distance y
below datum, vg is negative. At the datum, vg = 0.
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 Conservative Forces and Potential Energy
Potential Energy
ii. Elastic Potential Energy
The elastic potential energy due to a springs
configuration (stretched or compressed a
distance s from its unstretched position) is
1 2
Ve ks
2
Potential Function
In general, if a particle is subjected to both
gravitational and elastic forces, the particles
potential energy can be expressed as a
potential function

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 Conservation of Energy
If only conservative forces are applied to a body, the principle of work
and energy becomes the principle of conservation of mechanical energy
described by

This equation states that during the motion the sum of the particles
kinetic and potential energies remain constant.

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 Conservation of Energy
If a system of particles is subjected only to conservative forces, the
equation of conservation of mechanical energy for the system is

Hence, the sum of the particles initial kinetic and potential energies is
equal to the sum of the particles final kinetic and potential energies.

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 Principle of Work and Energy
Example 5:
The gantry structure shown in the figure is
used to test the response of an airplane
during a crash. The plane, with a mass of
8 Mg, is hoisted back until = 60, and
then the pull-back cable AC is released
when the plane is at rest.
Determine the speed of the plane just
before it crashed into the grand at = 15.
What is the maximum tension developed
in the supporting cable during the motion?

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 Principle of Work and Energy
Example 5 (Solution):

Based on the conservation of energy, we have

TA VA TB VB
1 2 1
mv A mgy A mvB2 mgyB
2 2
1
0 8000 9.81 20 cos 60 8000 vB2 8000 9.81 20 cos15
2
vB 13.52 m/s
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 Principle of Work and Energy
Example 5 (Solution):
To find the maximum tension developed by the supporting cable, we have
to draw the free-body diagram at position B and apply the equation of
motion.

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