CENTRIPETAL FORCE AND CENTRIPETAL ACCELERATION

Newton’s first law of motion states that:

A body remains in a state of rest, or of uniform motion

in a straight line, unless acted on by an external force.

From this we can say that if a body moves in a circular path it is being acted upon by some
external force – since its natural inclination is to travel in a straight line. For example:

 A mass whirled around on the end of a cord is prevented from moving in a straight line by the
tension force in the cord.
 A car travelling along a curved section of road is prevented from moving in a straight line, and
hence from crashing into the kerbside, by the friction force at the tyres.

The force on the mass that keeps it going round in a circular path is called a CENTRIPETAL
FORCE. The direction of this force is always towards the centre of the circle (i.e. radially inwards).

Consider a mass (m) attached to the end of a thin wire 

whose mass can be ignored. The mass is rotating at a m
constant angular velocity () in a horizontal circular plane
(radius r) about centre O. O

A force must be present to keep this mass in its circular

path. If not then the mass would move off in a straight
line (at a tangent!) with a linear velocity v as shown.  v1
t1 t2
Now the mass has momentum mv, or mr since v = r, m m
and a change in momentum can be caused by:
v2
(a) changing the mass 
(b) changing the velocity or
(c) changing the direction of the velocity. O
r
Case (c), which is the situation here, is often referred to
as a vector change in momentum and this change can
represented by a velocity vector diagram.

mv1 t1
Consider the situation where the mass m has moved
through a small angle  in a time t. (t equals t2 minus
t1.) Since is small then:  vector change in
momentum
Vector Change in Momentum  mv mv2
t2
mvδθ
Rate of Change of Momentum =
δt
δθ
and =ω
δt

So rate of change of momentum = mv but v = r or v

r

Rate of Change of Momentum = mr or mvv

r

= m2r or mv2
r
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But from Newton’s second law of motion:

The rate of change of momentum is proportional to the force

producing the change and is in the same direction of this force.

Hence the force F keeping the mass in its circular path is given by:

F = m2r or mv2 Units: standard units for mass, velocity and radius gives F in Newtons
r

Since Newton’s second law can also be stated as F = ma then the term v(or 2r or v2/r)
represents acceleration, in this case centripetal acceleration. Hence any object moving in a
circular path with constant velocity has centripetal acceleration which is directed towards the centre
of rotation.

Summary

 Centripetal Force – this is the force that acts on a mass rotating in a circular path and its
direction is always towards the centre of the circle (i.e. radially inwards).

 Note – if the centripetal force is removed the mass moves in a straight line along a tangent to
the circular path.

 The formula for F, given above, are used to solve problems involving:

 Vehicles travelling around horizontal curved tracks and curved banked tracks.
 Balancing of shafts and wheels when the centre of gravity is displaced from the axis of
rotation.
 Clutches which rely entirely on centripetal action to transmit power.
 Weightlessness and g force when objects move in a vertical circular plane.

 The radius r in the formula is always the distance from the centre or rotation of the mass (O) to
its centre of gravity (CoG).

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EXAMPLE 1 – a car of 1 tonne mass travels at 108 km.hr-1 round a horizontal curved track of
100m radius. Determine the side thrust on the tyres.

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EXAMPLE 2 – a mass of 500. kg is attached to a metal cable and whirled around in a horizontal
circular path at 50.0 revs.min-1, as in the diagram on page 2. If the circular path has a radius of
10.0 m and the mass of the cable is to be ignored determine:

(a) the tensile force in the cable and

(b) its diameter if the tensile stress is not to exceed 75 N.mm-2

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EXAMPLE 3 – the diagram shows a shaft and flywheel mounted vertically. The combined mass of
these is 800. kg and they rotate at 600. rev.min -1. If the centre of gravity of the shaft/flywheel is
displaced 2.00 mm from the axis of rotation, find the total force on the bearings. If the
shaft/flywheel is now mounted horizontally, determine the maximum and minimum total forces on
the bearings. Note – the flywheel is equidistant from each bearing.

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EXAMPLE 4 – a mass of 80.0 kg is hung from the end of a rope 1.00 metre long. Determine:

(a) the speed in rev.min –1 at which the mass needs to rotate in order to keep the rope at an angle
of 30.00 to the vertical and
(b) the tension in the rope.

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EXAMPLE 5 – a balance mass of 0.30 kg is bolted to the rim of a wheel at a radius of 200. mm. A
test on a similar bolt showed that fracture occurred under a tensile force of 10. kN. Determine the
angular speed, in rev.min –1, that will cause the balance weight to come away from the rim.

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WEIGHTLESSNESS AND G – FORCE – these two conditions are the result of a mass travelling at
speed in a vertical circular plane.

The first of these, weightlessness, is a condition

experienced by an object when the normal reaction
force (N) acting on it is zero. Such an object appears
to float and cannot fall.

Weightlessness may be experienced when:

 a car travels at speed over a hump-backed bridge.

 an aircraft is put into an “arched” flight path.
 when going over the top on a roller coaster ride.

The second condition, g-force, is experienced by every object in that whatever it weighs the
normal reaction force (N) acting on it is equal to the g-force. This is referred to as one g. However
when an object travels downwards along a curved path the normal reaction force (N) on it
increases beyond one g. This may be experienced when:

 an aircraft is pulling out of a dive.

 when going through a dip on a roller coaster ride.

Experienced fighter pilots may experience up to five or six g – most of us would “pass out” at this
level.

EXAMPLE 6 – a car of 1.0 tonne mass travels over a hump-backed bridge of 15 m radius.
Determine the speed, in km.hr –1, at which the car will be on the point of leaving the ground.

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EXAMPLE 7 – an astronaut has a mass of 70. kg and is undergoing training in weightlessness.
The aircraft in which this is to be simulated is flying at a constant speed of 800. km.hr –1 along the
flight path shown. Determine the radius (r) of this flight path in order for weightlessness to be
experienced.

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EXAMPLE 8 – if the aircraft in example 7 were to fly along the flight path shown what g force
would the trainee astronaut experience?

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SKIDDING AND OVERTURNING – for any object to move along a horizontal circular path, for
example a motor vehicle negotiating a bend in a road, a centripetal force needs to be present. This
acts radially inwards towards the centre of the circular path. Consider a mass (m) travelling at a
velocity v along a horizontal circular path of radius r. The mass would fail to keep to this path by
either skidding or overturning. The velocity required for this to occur is:

SKIDDING – this will not occur whilst the necessary

centripetal force mv2/r is greater than the limiting
friction force µN. Skidding will commence when they
are equal, hence:

mv2 = N and since N = w = mg

r

then mv2 = mg from which vMAX = rg)

r (exceed this and
skidding will occur)

and for a given velocity rMIN = v2

 g
OVERTURNING – at a certain velocity,
assuming skidding has not occurred, the
mass will begin to overturn and this will
require it to pivot about point A. At the
instant when the mass begins to pivot then
both the reaction N and the friction force FF
are concentrated at A. For pivoting not
to occur the turning effect of mg about A
must always be greater than the turning
effect of the necessary centripetal force mv2/r
about A. Hence at the point of overturning
we have:

mv2 x h = mg x d
r 2

from which vMAX = ((rgd)2h)

(exceed this and
overturning will occur)

and for a given speed rMIN = 2v2h

gd

Note – when these four equations are used

in calculations involving vehicles travelling
around horizontal tracks the appropriate
diagram would be as shown alongside where:

 d is the centre distance between the road wheels RL RR

RL RR
 the normal reaction N = RL + RR and

 the friction force FF = RL + RR

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Example 9 - a solid cylinder of uniform cross-section stands upright on a horizontal turntable. The
turntable rotates about a vertical axis and the distance from the axis of the cylinder to the axis of
rotation of the turntable is 0.600 m. The height of the cylinder is 150. mm and its diameter 50.0
mm. The coefficient of friction between the cylinder and the turntable is 0.400. The speed of the
turntable is increased until the cylinder either slides or overturns. Determine which occurs first and
at what speed, in rev.min -1, of the turntable.

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Example 10 - a motor vehicle travelling at 120. km.hr -1 along a straight road approaches an un-
banked curve of 90.0 m radius. Determine the change in speed required if the vehicle is to
negotiate the curve without skidding. The coefficient of friction between tyres and the road is
0.550.

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