The spring mechanism is used as a shock absorber for railroad cars. Determine the maximum compression of spring HI if the fixed bumper R of a railroad car of mass M, rolling freely at speed v strikes the plate P. Bar AB slides along the guide paths CE and DF. The ends of all springs are attached to their respective members and are originally unstretched.

Units Used: kN = 10 N Mg = 10 kg Given: M = 5 Mg v = 2 - S KN k 80- = m k' = 160 KN m