Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Vanderbilt University
October 4, 2011
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Introduction
Why does a bicycle with round wheels roll smoothly on a flat road?
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Introduction
Why does a bicycle with round wheels roll smoothly on a flat road?
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Introduction
Why does a bicycle with round wheels roll smoothly on a flat road?
As the wheel rolls, the center of the wheel stays at a constant
height, allowing the bicycle to ride smoothly.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
What about for a Square Wheel?
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
What about for a Square Wheel?
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
What about for a Square Wheel?
As the square wheel rolls across a flat surface, the center of the
square changes elevation. To compensate for these elevation
changes and to smooth the ride, the roads surface needs to be
uneven.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
What about for a Square Wheel?
As the square wheel rolls across a flat surface, the center of the
square changes elevation. To compensate for these elevation
changes and to smooth the ride, the roads surface needs to be
uneven.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Reinventing the Road
A series of these bumps forms a road that a square can roll
smoothly on.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Reinventing the Road
A series of these bumps forms a road that a square can roll
smoothly on.
How do we determine the exact shape of these bumps?
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Determining the Shape of the Bumps
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Determining the Shape of the Bumps
Design Criteria:
I The center of the wheel must stay at a constant height d.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Determining the Shape of the Bumps
Design Criteria:
I The center of the wheel must stay at a constant height d.
I The wheel must be tangent to the roads surface at the point
of contact.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Determining the Shape of the Bumps
Design Criteria:
I The center of the wheel must stay at a constant height d.
I The wheel must be tangent to the roads surface at the point
of contact.
I The center of the wheel should be directly above the point of
contact with the roads surface.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Determining the Shape of the Bumps
Design Criteria:
I The center of the wheel must stay at a constant height d.
I The wheel must be tangent to the roads surface at the point
of contact.
I The center of the wheel should be directly above the point of
contact with the roads surface.
I The distance along the surface of the bump must equal the
length of one side of the square.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
The Geometry Behind the Shape
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
The Geometry Behind the Shape
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
The Geometry Behind the Shape
a = (d y ) cos()
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
The Geometry Behind the Shape
a = (d y ) cos()
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
The Geometry Behind the Shape
a = (d y ) cos()
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
The Geometry Behind the Shape
1
2
1 + dy
dx
a = (d y ) cos() = (d y ) r
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Calculus
Solve for
dy
dx :
dy
=
dx
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
s
d y
a
2
1
Vanderbilt University
Calculus
Solve for
dy
dx :
dy
=
dx
s
Separate the xs from the y s:
1
r
2
dy
a
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
d y
a
2
1
dy = dx
1
Vanderbilt University
Calculus
Solve for
dy
dx :
dy
=
dx
s
Separate the xs from the y s:
1
r
2
dy
a
d y
a
2
1
dy = dx
1
Integrate both sides:
Z
r
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
1
dy
a
2
dy =
dx
1
Vanderbilt University
Calculus (continued)
1
r
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
dy
a
2
dy =
dx
Vanderbilt University
Calculus (continued)
1
r
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
dy
a
2
dy =
dx
du =
u2 1
Z
dx, where u =
d y
a
Vanderbilt University
Calculus (continued)
1
r
dy
a
2
dy =
dx
du =
u2 1
What is an antiderivative of g (u) =
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
dx, where u =
d y
a
1
?
u 2 1
Vanderbilt University
Calculus (continued)
1
r
dy
a
2
dy =
dx
du =
u2 1
What is an antiderivative of g (u) =
dx, where u =
d y
a
1
?
u 2 1
G (u) = cosh1 (u) (inverse hyperbolic cosine)!!
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Calculus (continued)
Solving for y , we get that y = d a cosh( xa + c), where c is some
constant.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Calculus (continued)
Solving for y , we get that y = d a cosh( xa + c), where c is some
constant.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Calculus (continued)
Solving for y , we get that y = d a cosh( xa + c), where c is some
constant.
Initial Value: y (0) = d a, so c = 0. Thus, y = d a cosh( xa ).
(This type of curve is called an inverted catenary.)
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Example:
For example,
if the wheel is a square with sides of length 2, a = 1
and d = 2.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Example:
For example,
if the wheel is a square with sides of length 2, a = 1
and d = 2.
Thus, y =
2 cosh(x).
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
How Much of the Graph Do We Need to Use?
Because of how we set up this problem, we only need to use the
portion of the graph lying above the x-axis (i.e.
the portion of the
graph with b x b, where b = cosh1 ( 2) 0.8814) and
repeat it.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
How Much of the Graph Do We Need to Use?
Because of how we set up this problem, we only need to use the
portion of the graph lying above the x-axis (i.e.
the portion of the
graph with b x b, where b = cosh1 ( 2) 0.8814) and
repeat it.
Remarks:
I The arclength of y =
2 cosh(x) from x = b to x = b
equals 2, which is the length of a single side of the square.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
How Much of the Graph Do We Need to Use?
Because of how we set up this problem, we only need to use the
portion of the graph lying above the x-axis (i.e.
the portion of the
graph with b x b, where b = cosh1 ( 2) 0.8814) and
repeat it.
Remarks:
I The arclength of y =
2 cosh(x) from x = b to x = b
equals 2, which is the length ofa single side of the square.
I The slope of the graph of y =
2 cosh(x) at x = b is 1,
and the slope at x = b is -1, so the angle between two
consecutive bumps of the road is 90 .
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Squares on a Roll
Mathematica Demonstration
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Squares on a Roll
Mathematica Demonstration
Figure 1: Macalester College
Figure 2: St. Norbert College
Texas A & M Video
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Hyperbolic Functions and Catenaries
x
The hyperbolic cosine function y = cosh(x) = e +e
seemingly
2
appeared out of nowhere in this application, but catenary functions
actually appear in many natural settings and applications.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Hyperbolic Functions and Catenaries
x
The hyperbolic cosine function y = cosh(x) = e +e
seemingly
2
appeared out of nowhere in this application, but catenary functions
actually appear in many natural settings and applications.
A catenary is the shape you get when you let a chain or a string
hang freely between two endpoints.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Catenaries (continued)
Pyramids: There is evidence that ancient Egyptians might
have used tracks of wood cut into quarter-circles (whose
shapes are very close to those of inverted catenary curves) to
move large blocks of stone for the pyramids.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Catenaries (continued)
I
Arches: Inverted catenaries y = d a cosh( xa ) form the
strongest arches.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Catenaries (continued)
I
Arches: Inverted catenaries y = d a cosh( xa ) form the
strongest arches.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Catenaries (continued)
I
Arches: Inverted catenaries y = d a cosh( xa ) form the
strongest arches.
The Gateway Arch is actually a weighted catenary of the form
y = d b cosh( xa ) because it is narrower at the top than at
its base. Its shape corresponds to the shape that a weighted
chain, having lighter links in the middle, would form.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
What about Other Regular Polygons?
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
What about Other Regular Polygons?
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
What about Other Regular Polygons?
The same procedure that we used for a square will work for
any regular polygon (except for a triangle!)
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
What about Other Regular Polygons?
The same procedure that we used for a square will work for
any regular polygon (except for a triangle!)
a
Instead of d = 2a, now d = cos(/n)
, where n is the number
of sides of the polygon.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
What about Other Regular Polygons?
The same procedure that we used for a square will work for
any regular polygon (except for a triangle!)
a
Instead of d = 2a, now d = cos(/n)
, where n is the number
of sides of the polygon.
As the number of sides of the polygon increases, the bumps
on the catenary road will become flatter and flatter.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Other Things to Try
I
Given some other wheel shape, can we figure out the shape of
the corresponding road?
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
Other Things to Try
I
Given some other wheel shape, can we figure out the shape of
the corresponding road?
Given a road shape, can we find a wheel that will ride
smoothly over that road?
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
A Few References
Leon Hall and Stan Wagon. Roads and Wheels.
Mathematics Magazine, Vol. 65, No. 5 (Dec., 1992), pp.
283-301.
G.B. Robison. Rockers and Rollers. Mathematics Magazine,
Vol. 33 (1960), pp. 139-144.
Stacy Hoehn Fonstad
Smooth Rides on Square Wheels
Vanderbilt University
