How do you find the spring constant with elastic potential energy and extension? It is directly proportional to the stiffness of the spring and its mass. customary units, k is lbf/in.Ĭommon K in spring energy is the amount of spring energy stored in a spring. The SI unit of k is newton per meter (N/m). The standard spring constant (k) is the spring constant in Hooke’s law, which can be expressed as However, the relationship between deflection and force is non-linear: doubling the deflection does not necessarily mean doubling the force.Ī strong spring constant is often considered values above 5. For example, a stiffer spring will exert more force for the same deflection than a weaker one. Yes, in fact, the spring constant k can be any value.Ī spring’s force is determined by its stiffness, which is a material property of the spring. The potential energy is now being stored as a decrease in distance between its ends and a decrease in its bending moment about the central axis. When a spring is compressed, the same process occurs but in reverse. If a force is exerted upon the spring when it is stretched from its initial equilibrium position, this force will be stored as potential energy in the form of an increase in the distance between the springs ends as well as an increase in its bending moment about its central axis. When a spring is stretched, this increases the potential energy stored within it. Spring Constant = Force / Extension Spring Constant = 3 N/m / 0.5 m Spring Constant = 6 N Force = 6 Newtons Force = 6 x 10-3 kg Mass of Coil = 0.5 kg Extension = 50 mm Work done = 50 How do you calculate spring constant GCSE?Įxample: You have a 0.5 m long metal coil with a spring constant of 3 N/m and you want to know how much force it will take to stretch it by 50 mm. In general, a high spring constant indicates a stiffer spring, whereas a low spring constant indicates that the spring will be more flexible. The law states that for elastic materials, the Force is proportional to the displacement (x). Hooke’s Law Calculator is used to calculate the amount of force (F) between two objects or surfaces. In other words, if you pull on your length of spring and measure how much force it takes to stretch it a certain amount (you can use a Vernier caliper to measure displacements), you can then calculate what your spring constant would be using this formula. Where F is the force exerted by the spring, m is the mass, K is the spring constant and x is the displacement of the spring. The formula for finding the spring constant, K, is: In simple cases the spring constant does not change, however, if analyzed more closely, the spring constant can change depending on other factors such as temperature and whether the spring is in tension or compression.ĭisplacement can be either positive or negative depending on whether the spring is in compression or tension.įinding the spring constant is a matter of basic physics. The spring constant 10 N*m.Īnalyze the results for accuracy and apply what’s been learned to future problems. Finally, enter all of the information into our formula.For this example we will say the displacement is -1 meter, meaning the spring is in compression. For this example, we will assume 10 Newtons.Īs is the case with the force, when springs are involved this displacement is almost always measured directly or given in the problem. Sometimes it’s also provided in a problem. In most spring applications this is done directly via a gauge. In this case, we will first measure the force acting on the spring. Next, we must measure our first variable.To do this, we simply divide both sides by -x. First, the formula for Hooke’s law must be manipulated to solve for k, the spring constant.Displacement can be positive if the spring is being pulled in tension, or negative if the spring is being compressed.
This is to take into account the direction of displacement. Taking another look at the equation above it can be seen that there is a negative sign in the equation. The force and displacement are proportional so if graphed against one another, it would yield a straight line. The higher the elasticity, the lower the spring constant. That is, elasticity is directly related to the force constant. This value is also a measure of elasticity. The higher the spring constant, the harder it is to compress or stretch it. Spring Constant DefinitionĪ spring constant is a measure of a spring’s ability to resist compression and elongation. To calculate a spring constant, divide the spring force by the spring displacement. x is the displacement (m) (positive for displacement, negative for compression).
0 kommentar(er)
