HW #4, P1 - Compression of Cooling Air by a Linear Spring - 6 pts

Warm air is conatined in a piston-and-cylinder device oriented horizontally, as shown below. The air cools slowly from an initial volume of 0.003 m3 to a final volume of 0.002 m3. During this process, the spring exerts a force that varies linearly from 900 N to a final value of zero N. The atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa and the area of the piston face is 0.018 m2. Friction between the piston and cylinder wall can be neglected because the process occurs so slowly. For the air, determine the initial and final pressures in kPa and the boundary work for the process in kJ.