Experiment 1: Equation of Motion: Normal and Tangential

14007037

LABORATORY REPORT
CVE 3302
ENIGINEERING DYNAMICS
Bachelor of Civil Engineering
(BCEGI)
Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics
(FOSTEM)

Name: Fazeen Mohamed

ID: I14007037
Experiment No: 01
Experiment Title: Equation of Motion (Normal and Tangential)

Experiment 1: Equation of Motion: Normal and Tangential

14007037

Submission Date: 25 09 2015

Equation of Motion: Normal and Tangential Part A
Equipment Used: Apparatus LS-1234

Objectives
1.

Demonstration of the centrifugal motion to prove that it

follows the Newtons Law Fn =m an .

2.

Comparison of experimental results with those calculated from

theory.

Procedures
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Initially the radius of gyration r of both masses was pre-set to

be 125 mm from the centre before the experiment.
When the masses were positioned properly, the cover door
was closed and the main power was switched on.
The initial angular speed N was specified by adjusting the
speed controller.
The rotational speed in rpm and the experimental force were
recorded down digitally.
Step 3 and 4 were repeated to obtain rotational speed.
The data was recorded in table and graphs of experimental
force, Fexp and theoretical force, Ftheory versus the square of
velocity of the mass, v2 were plotted.

Results and Calculations

Radius of gyration, r = 0.125 m
Mass, m = 0.311 kg (total mass of both rotating masses)

N
(rpm)

98
153
201
254
302

2 N
60

(rad s-1)

10.26
16.02
21.05
26.60
31.63

Fexp

v =r

(m s-1)

(m2 s-2)

(N)

1.283
2.003
2.631
3.325
3.953

1.646
4.011
6.923
11.05
15.65

4.0
10.0
18.0
29.0
41.0

mv 2
Ftheory =
r
(N)

Percentag
e Error
(%)

4.094
9.980
17.22
27.50
38.88

2.303
0.205
4.509
1.818
2.881

Experiment 1: Equation of Motion: Normal and Tangential

14007037

351

36.67

4.595

21.11

56.0

52.52

4.722

60
50
40

Force (N)

30
Experimental
Theoretical

20
10
0

10

15

20

25

Velocity2 (m2S-2)

Discussions
From the graph plotted (F against V 2) using the obtained
experimental and theoretical data it is evident that there is a linear
relationship between the centrifugal force (experimental and
theoretical) and square of the velocity. It is also evident that as
velocity increases (thus increases square velocity) the deviation
between experimental centrifugal force and theoretical centrifugal
force tends to increase.
The cause for these deviation is mainly due to human and
mechanical error (machine error) leading to variations. If we look at
the formula for calculating centrifugal force theoretically we can
identify the components that lead to the human error as well as
mechanical error. The formula for calculation of centrifugal force is
given as;
m 2
F=m v 2 / r=
v
r

( )

If we look at the formula there are three components that

might leads to the error percentage. These include mass, radius and
velocity. Error caused by velocity will be minimal as it is set for the
experiment at each time, however mass and radius may lead to
inaccuracy in the results obtained. Accurate measurements of mass

Experiment 1: Equation of Motion: Normal and Tangential

14007037

and radius of gyration is required to make the theoretical and

experimental force to be equivalent experimentally. The radius was
set manually using the scale attached. Hence alignment and
adjustment variation may lead to error in the radius set for the
experiment. The mass of rotating masses were not calculated,
rather given as fixed value which may vary with the actual mass of
the objects and may lead to slight variation.
The average error percentage is around 3.23% < 5%, hence
the results obtained are acceptable. There is no force acting on the
mass when the masses are at rest and force increases as velocity
increases.

Conclusions
This experiment signifies that theres a centrifugal force acting
on the object undergoing circular motion at a fixed point. The
centrifugal force is perpendicular to the direction of motion so that
theres no acceleration in the direction of motion. Thus this force is
required for any object travelling a circular path to complete its
rotation about a fixed point. This is also the tangential component of
acceleration. It is tangential to the direction of motion of the point. If
this component is 0, the motion is uniform circular motion, and the
velocity changes in direction only. Since the radius s constant the
centrifugal force is directly proportional to the square velocity of the
object. Centrifugal force increases as the velocity increases or else
the object might deviate from the path. This is because as the
rotation speed increases the tangential velocity also increases as
2
shown in this formula F=m v /r . This force will help the object to
remain in its path. Thus concluding that centrifugal motion follow
the Newtons Law Fn =m an .

Experiment 1: Equation of Motion: Normal and Tangential

14007037

Equation of Motion: Normal and Tangential Part B

Equipment Used: Apparatus LS-1234

Objectives
1.
2.

Determination of the relationship between centrifugal force, F

and the radius of gyration, r.
Comparison of experimental results with those calculated from
theory.

Procedures
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Initially the radius of gyration r of both masses was pre-set to

be 115 mm from the centre before the experiment.
When the masses were positioned properly, the cover door
was closed and the main power was switched on.
The initial angular speed N was taken as specified 200 rpm by
adjusting the speed controller.
The experimental force were recorded down digitally.
Step 1 to 4 were repeated five times with different values of
radius of gyration.
The data was recorded in table and graphs of experimental
force, Fexp and theoretical force, Ftheory versus the radius of
gyration of the mass, r were plotted.

Results and Calculations

N = 200 rpm
Mass, m = 0.311 kg (total mass of both rotating masses)
F=mr 2

Experiment 1: Equation of Motion: Normal and Tangential

14007037

Where.
Radius of gyration, r
(m)
0.115
0.125
0.135
0.145
0.155
0.165

2 N
60

Fexp (N)

Ftheory (N)

16.0
17.0
19.0
20.0
21.0
23.0

15.69
17.05
18.42
19.78
21.15
22.51

Percentage Error
(%)
1.98 %
0.293 %
3.167 %
1.108 %
0.686 %
2.263 %

24
23
22
21
20

Force (N)

Experimental

19

Linear (Experimental)

18

Theoretical

17
16
15
0.11

0.12

0.13

0.14

0.15

0.16

0.17

Radius of gyration, r (m)

Discussions
The graph is plotted centrifugal force against radius of
gyration. Form the graph it is evident that radius of gyration is
directly proportional to the centrifugal force. The omega and mass
of the object are kept constant in this experiment and radius is
varied to calculate the centrifugal force. Theres variation between
the experimental and calculated values and if we consider the
formula we can identify the components that lead to error. The
F=mr 2
formula for calculating the force is given as

Experiment 1: Equation of Motion: Normal and Tangential

14007037

As of part A mass is kept constant, however it is not

measured before the experiment, hence slight deviation is possible.
The omega is kept constant by keeping the Normal velocity (N)
constant. Hence this adjustment is made manually human error is
possible and will cause inaccuracy in theoretical and experimental
results. Third component is measured radius. Misalignment or
adjustment variation might have caused slight deviation in the
measured radius. In this experiment also the average error is less
than 5%, thus is acceptable.
From the calculated results it is significant that for an object
with fixed velocity, the centrifugal force increases as the radius of
gyration increases. Hence more centrifugal force is required to keep
the object in circular path to count for the increase in radius.

Conclusion
A force is required to keep an object moving in circular motion.
This force is directly proportional to the radius of gyration with
respect to this formula,
F=mr 2
The experimental results signifies the relationship between
centrifugal force and radius of gyration for an object moving in
circular motion about a fixed point is directly proportional as the
graph is a straight line passing through the origin. The slight
deviation in the experimental values is due to human and
mechanical error. Hence when radius is increased the centrifugal
force also increases to keep the object in circular motion without
tripping from its path when angular speed is constant. If radius is
zero there will be no centrifugal force acting in the object.
Thus this conclude the relationship between centrifugal force
and radius of gyration theoretically and experimentally as directly
proportional.