Modeling Suction Force: Tips & Solutions

[Adeel Ahmad]

Homework Statement

I have 2 scenarios.
Scenario 1: I am lifting an object with a suction cup using a robot arm which then accelerates. I know the values for suction force, object weight, acceleration, and suction area of the suction cup.

Scenario 2: I am lifting another object with a suction cup but the object has a different weight. I only know the object weight and acceleration in this scenario. However I need to find the suction area while making sure it is proportional to the object weight and suction area from the first scenario. How can I solve for this?

Relevant Equations

F=ma or W (suction force) = A (suction area) * P (vacuum value)

At a total loss here

 

[archaic]

$\text{net force }ma=\text{weight}+\text{suction force}$, I guess?

 

[hmmm27]

If you read it over a bunch of times you can probably get an idea of what they're asking you to do.

A couple of questions might help (or not) :
- what two components make up "suction force" ?
- is it the same suction cup in both scenarios ? If not, what would be the relevant difference.
- is the direction component of added acceleration the same in both cases ? If so, what is the direction component.

What are they actually asking you to do ?