In a double acting piston, where is the force exerted less?

In a double acting piston, the force exerted on the rod side is less because of the difference in effective piston area between the two sides of the piston. The head side of the piston has a larger area since the area that is effectively pushing generates force is the area of the piston minus the area of the rod that occupies space on the opposite side.

When the piston is actuated, the hydraulic fluid exerts pressure on the entire surface area of the head side, producing a significant amount of force. In contrast, on the rod side, the area that the fluid acts on is reduced by the cross-sectional area of the rod itself. Therefore, since the same hydraulic pressure is applied, the resulting force on the rod side is less than that on the head side.

This principle is important in hydraulics as it affects the operational efficiency and design considerations for double-acting cylinders, impacting how they perform during both the extension and retraction strokes. Thus, recognizing the implications of surface area on force is key to understanding how double acting pistons operate.