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JJBladester
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Homework Statement
To preface this post, I have already fully solved the problem and obtained the "correct" answer. I am just bothered by the answer after listening to a classmate argue against it.
A trailer truck with a 2000-kg cab and an 8000-kg trailer is traveling on a level road at 90km/h. The brakes on the trailer fail and the antiskid system of the cab provides the largest possible force which will not cause the wheels of the cab to slide. Knowing that the coefficient of static friction is 0.65, determine (a) the shortest time for the rig to come to a stop, (b) the force in the coupling during that time.
Answers:
(a) 19.6s
(b) 10.2 kN
Homework Equations
[tex]F=ma[/tex]
[tex]a=\frac{dv}{dt}[/tex]
The Attempt at a Solution
Given:
[tex]m_c=2000kg[/tex]
[tex]m_t=8000kg[/tex]
[tex]v=90\frac{km}{hr}*\frac{1000m}{1km}*\frac{1hr}{3600s}=25\frac{m}{s}[/tex]
[tex]\mu_s=0.65[/tex]
[tex]f_s=f_{s_{max}}=\mu_smg[/tex]
[tex]C=coupling\; force[/tex]
Cab:
[tex]F=ma[/tex]
[tex]C-f=m_ca[/tex]
[tex]C-\mu_sm_cg=m_ca[/tex]
[tex]C-\mu_sm_cg=m_c\frac{dv}{dt}[/tex]
[tex]Cdt-\mu_sm_cgdt=m_cdv[/tex]
[tex]\int_{0}^{t}Cdt-\int_{0}^{t}\mu_sm_cgdt=\int_{v_1}^{v_2}m_cdv[/tex]
[tex]Ct-\mu_smgt=m_cv_2-m_cv_1[/tex]
[tex](Eqn 1)\; \; \; \rightarrow \; \; \; \ m_cv_1+Ct-\mu_smgt=m_cv_2[/tex]
Trailer:
[tex]F=ma[/tex]
[tex]-C=m_ta[/tex]
[tex]-C=m_t\frac{dv}{dt}[/tex]
[tex]-Cdt=m_tdv[/tex]
[tex]\int_{0}^{t}-Cdt=\int_{v_1}^{v_2}m_tdv[/tex]
[tex](Eqn 2)\; \; \; \rightarrow \; \; \; \ m_tv_1-Ct=m_tv_2[/tex]
2 eqns with 2 unknowns. Add Eqn 1 to Eqn 2 and we have:
[tex](m_c+m_t)v_1-\mu_smgt=(m_c+m_t)v_2[/tex]
[tex]t=\frac{(m_c+m_t)(v_1-v_2)}{\mu_sm_cg}=19.6s[/tex]
That is the time it takes for the rig to come to a stop.
The coupling force during that time is:
[tex]C=\frac{m_t(v_1-v_2)}{t}=10204N=10.2kN[/tex]
_____________________________________________________________________
That is the full "correct" solution. Now, what a classmate argued was that the coupling force C could not be the same in both the cab and the trailer because there is a frictional force on the cab so the forces are not "balanced". He said that we couldn't be assured that the acceleration of both the trailer and the cab were the same.
If you look at the FBD of the cab, you have a coupling force and frictional force acting in the x-direction while the trailer has only a coupling force in the x-direction. Thus, if the coupling forces are equal and opposite (Newton's third law), the acceleration of the trailer must be different than that of the cab.
I may be mangling his reasoning, but it got me thinking "how is C in the cab equal to C in the trailer if there's friction in the x-dir in the cab, but not the trailer?"
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