HYDRAULIC SYSTEM

When a force is applied to a contained, incompressible

fluid, the pressure increases equally in all directions
throughout the fluid.
PROBLEM:
1. A downward force of 100N is applied to the small
piston with a diameter of 50cm in the hydraulic lift
system shown below.
a. What is the upward force exerted by the large piston
with a diameter of 2m.
b. What is the mechanical advantage of this hydraulic
system.
c. If the input force of 100N pushes the small piston
down by 2m, how high will the large piston rise?
2. A 1500kg car is placed on the piston with a radius of 4m.
a. What is the minimum upward force that the large
piston must exert to lift the car?
b. If the mechanical advantage of thehydraulic lift
system is 20, what is the minimum downward force
that should be applied to lift the car?
c. What is the radius of the small piston?
d. What is the pressure exerted by the large piston?
e. How far should the small piston descend in order to
lift the car by 2m?
Let’s try these problems!
1. A barber raises his customer’s chair by applying a force
of 150N to a hydraulic piston of 0.01m². If the chair is
attached to a piston of area 0.01m². How massive a
customer can be the chair raise? Assume the chair
itself has a mass of 5kg.
2. A Hydraulic System is used to lift a 2000kg vehicle in
auto garage. If the vehicle sits on a piston of area
0.5m², a force is applied to a piston of area 0.03m²,
what is the minimum force that must be applied to lift
the vehicle?