FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

“In the name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful”

La
b
Rolling Disc on Inclined Plane
#0
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Prepared By
Mohd Firdaus bin Hassan Nasrul Azuan bin
Alang
[email protected] [email protected]
Noraini Mohd Razali
[email protected]

Fakulti Kejuruteraan Mekanikal,

Universiti Malaysia Pahang

Lab Location
Statics & Dynamics Laboratory

Lab Objectives

By the end of semester, students should be able to determine:

 the mass moment of inertia by rolling experiment
 the mass moment of inertia by pendulum experiment
 the law of falling bodies on an inclined plane

20 Date: ____________________

Student
Group Members Section
ID

BMM2521 Engineering Mechanics Lab II_0708/I_Rolling_Disc_on_Inclined_Plane

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1.0 Introduction

Free Fall

A major example of a uniformly accelerated movement is a free fall.

As first discovered by Galileo, a free falling body undergoes uniformly
accelerated motion in close proximity to the Earth when the air
resistance is negligible in relation to the weight of the body. The result
of this is that all bodies, regardless of their shape, nature and weight,
fall equally quickly. This motion is termed free fall. The amount of
acceleration of free fall, is g=9.81 m/s2. The final speed of a free
falling body depends only on the height which it has fallen.

v   2 gh

Galileo recognized at the time the correlation between the distance of

the fall and the time taken to fall. The distance fallen is proportional
to the square of the time taken to fall.

When ball is rolled in a tough on an inclined plane below the angle α

to the horizontal, it rolls more slowly the smaller the angle α is. The
vertical downward-acting acceleration g of the free fall can be broken
down into two components g.cos α perpendicular to the plane and
g.sin α parallel to the plane. Since the acceleration component
directed perpendicular to the track is canceled out by the rigidity of
the track plane, the only acceleration acting on the rolling ball is g sin
α. Consequently, the ball covers a shorter than in free fall.

Moment of Inertia

The behavior of all bodies in retaining the state of rest or a uniformly

straight-line movement is caused by a property of the bodies termed
inertia. We therefore refer to this behavior as the law of inertia.
According to the Newton, the law of inertia is defined as stating that
any mass point remains at rest or in a state of uniform movement on a
straight path as long as no forces are acting on it.

When a disk is allowed to roll down an inclined plane, it undergoes

uniformly accelerated motion. The amount of the acceleration
depends on the angle of inclination and the moment of inertia, which

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counteracts the acceleration. A body may have different moments of

inertia depending on the distance of the mass from the rotational axis.
The literature details the mass moments of inertia for a number of
different bodies. For a disk, as in our experiment, the moment of
inertia is:

1
I  .m.R 2
2

The acceleration is calculated as follows:

m.g . sin  .r 2
a
I

2.0 Experiment Setup

1. TM611 Rolling disc on Inclined Plane apparatus which comprises of, 
a. Two carriers with three-point bearing serve as the inclined
plane.
b. A height adjuster to adjust the angle of inclination.
c. An angulometer to gauge the angle of inclination.
d. A meter stick to gauge the distance
e. Two disks, self-centering by means of conical shaft journals.
f. Bubble levels
g. A pendulum support
h. Base plate
i. Shaft Journal
2. Stop watch

b c e d
a
i

g f

Figure 1: Rolling Disc on Incline Plane Apparatus

3.0 Experimental Procedure

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Test 1: Inclined Plane

1. Set the desired inclination of the inclined plane

2. Using the meter stick, select the desired distance (between 0 and 1000 mm) and
prepare a stop watch.
3. Place the desired disk at the zero position on the track. Make sure the mid point of the
rotational axis is located at the marking, and the disk is positioned in the centre.
4. Let the disk go and start the stop watch. At the end of the desired distance stop the
watch and the disk. Make sure the watch is only stopped when the mid of point has
reached the measurement mark.
5. Repeat the measurement procedure several times in order to minimize measurement
errors. Then calculate a mean value for each series of experiments and put the results
in Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3.
Formula
r2
a  mg sin 
I
1
I  mR 2
2
2s
t
a

a = acceleration, m/s2
m = mass, kg
α = inclined angle, °
r = radius of roll, m
R = radius of the disk, m
I = mass moment of inertia, kgm2
t = time, s
s = distance, m

Test 2: Pendulum Support

1. Firstly the pendulum support and base are aligned.

2. A box level is attached to the base plate to assist leveling.
3. The star grip screws is turn until the bubble in the bubble level is exactly in middle.
Then, star grip screws are locked with the nuts.
4. Slot the straight pin supplied through the disk which is to be swung.
5. Slot the disk into the pendulum support.
6. Swing the disk and time a certain number of oscillations, such as 10.
7. Based on time, the mass and the distance from the centre of gravity, calculate moment
of inertia and put the result in Table 4

Formula

1
T 
f
w  2p f

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m.g .s
Js  - m.s 2
w 2

Where
T = period, s
f = frequency, s-1
ω = angular velocity, rad/s
Js = moment of inertia, kgm2
g = acceleration due to gravity, ms-2
s = disk radius, m

4.0 Results

Table 1: Roll time for a distance of 1000 mm

Angle of Large Disc Small Disc

inclination t1 t2 t3 tmean t1 t2 t3 tmean
[◦] [sec] [sec] [sec] [sec] [sec] [sec] [sec] [sec]
1 28.26 27.99 27.55 27.93 19.66 19.45 19.91 19.67
2 16.99 16.85 16.70 16.85 11.68 11.59 11.65 11.64
3 13.67 13.97 13.77 13.80 9.54 9.64 9.56 9.58
4 11.70 11.72 11.68 11.70 8.02 8.16 8.10 8.09
5 10.56 10.71 10.55 10.61 7.31 7.30 7.52 7.38
6 9.77 9.59 9.42 9.59 6.56 6.66 6.72 6.65
7 8.92 8.88 8.97 8.92 6.22 6.20 6.06 6.16

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Table 2: Large disk: Roll time for a distance of 1000 mm

Angle Acceleration Calculated time Measured time Deviation

[◦] [m/sec2] t [sec] t [sec] [%]
1 0.00342 24.18 27.93 +15.5
2 0.00685 17.09 16.85 -1.4
3 0.01027 13.95 13.80 -1.1
4 0.01369 12.09 11.70 -3.2
5 0.01710 10.81 10.61 -1.9
6 0.02051 9.87 9.59 -2.8
7 0.02391 9.14 8.92 -2.4

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Table 3: Small disk: Roll time for a distance of 1000 mm

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Angle Acceleration Calculated time Measured time Deviation

[◦] [m/sec2] t [sec] t [sec] [%]
1 0.00699 16.92 19.67 +16.3
2 0.01397 11.97 11.64 -2.8
3 0.02096 9.77 9.58 -1.9
4 0.02793 8.46 8.09 -4.4
5 0.03490 7.57 7.38 -2.5
6 0.04185 6.91 6.65 -3.8
7 0.04880 6.40 6.16 -3.8

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Table 4: Result for Test 2
t1 t2 t3 tmean ω J
[sec] [sec] [sec] [sec] [sec] [kgm2]
Large
Disc
Small
Disc

2
5.0 Discussion

1. How to adjust the angle of inclination?

- Turn the height adjuster spindle until the angulometer shows the desired value.

2
2. What is the purpose of angulometer?

- The purpose of angulometer is to measure/gauge the angle of inclination.

3. Can you give an alternative method to measure the angle of

inclination?

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- Protector
- Using calculation – Trigonometry (figure 3.1)

 A
A   tan -1  
B

B

(Figure 3.1)

4. How to make a precise alignment for this experiment?

- Make sure the three bubble level is exactly in the middle. It can be made by
turning the height adjuster spindle.

5. Why the angle higher than 7° cannot be used for this experiment?
- When the angle of inclination higher than 70, time taken by rolling disc to arrive at
the end of the desired distance is too short. Consequently, measurement error will
happen and it will affect the experiment result.

2
6. Give the definition of free fall theory which discovered by Galileo?

- A motion is said to be uniformly accelerated when, starting from rest, it acquires

during equal time intervals, equal increments of speed.
- A free falling body undergoes uniformly accelerated motion in close proximity to
the Earth when the air resistance is negligible in relation to the weight of the body.

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2
7. Give the factors that cause free falling body?

- Air resistance is negligible in relation to the weight of the body

2
8. What is the relation between angle of inclination and the rolling
disk?

- The disc acceleration a, is proportional with angle of inclination,  .

mgr 2 sin 
Where, a=
J

2
9. Explain the term inertia?

- Behavior of all bodies in retaining the state of rest or in motion is caused by a

property of the bodies termed inertia.

2
10. What repeatability of the measurement is important?

- In order to minimize measurement errors. For this purpose, the average measured
time is calculated.

11. Draw Free Body Diagram of the disk roll on inclined plane?

- Free Body Diagram

2
mg. sin 

mg. cos 
w  mg
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
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(Disc Roll on Inclined Plane)

12. Why deviation occurs between calculated and measured

value?

- Deviations in the measured values result from measurement inaccuracies and the
influence of friction.
- Influence of disc shape – conical shaft journals.

13. Suggest improvement of the experiment?

- Friction between two surfaces should be considered in calculation.

- Put the equipment at the flat place.
- Redesign the equipment, so uniform disc (without conical shaft journal)
can be used.

6.0 Conclusion

- The value of moment of inertia is different for different usage.

- The acceleration of rolling disc on inclined plane influence by mass
and diameter.

Reference

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- Any resources

Appendix

Technical Data

Main dimensions

LxWxH 1200 x 300 x 250 mm3

Weight 15 kg

Large Disk

Outer diameter 100 mm

Roll diameter 10 mm
Pendulum radius 10 mm
Mass 623 g

Small disk

Outer diameter 70 mm
Roll diameter 10 mm
Pendulum radius 10 mm
Mass 319 g

Inclined plane

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Max. Length 1000 mm

Max. Angle of inclination 7o

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