TRIFILAR

EXPERIMENT

Submitted by
Prakhar Gupta
2008UME139
M2
OBJECTIVE
To determine the moment of inertia of sample object by using Trifilar Suspension
System.

INTRODUCTION
Moment of inertia, also called mass moment of inertia or the angular mass, is the
rotational analogue mass. That is, it is the inertia of a rigid rotating body with respect to
its rotation. The moment of inertia plays much the same role in rotational dynamics as
mass does in basic dynamics, determining the relationship between angular momentum
and angular velocity, torque and angular acceleration, and several other quantities. While
a simple scalar treatment of the moment of inertia suffices for many situations, a more
advanced tensor treatment allow s the analysis of such complicated systems as spinning
tops and gyroscope motion.

The moment of inertia of an object about a given axis describes how difficult it is to
change its angular motion about that axis. Mass moment of inertia of a mechanical
component plays an essential role whenever a dynamic analysis is considered important
for the design.

A Trifilar suspension is a type of assembly that makes use of free torsional oscillation. It
is used to determine the moments of inertia of a body about an axis passing through its
mass centre. Trifilar suspensions are commonly used for school workshop experiments.
Figure below displays a standard Trifilar suspension arrangement.

APPARATUS / EQUIPMENTS

 The Trifilar suspension (consisted of circular plywood attached and hooked onto a
hanger via chains.)
 Stop watch
 Ruler
 Measuring tape
THEORIES AND FORMULAS USED IN THE TRIFILAR EXPERIMENT

Schematic of a standard Trifilar suspension arrangement.

In the experiment the periodic time is measured and compared with the theoretical
periodic time. The periodic rotation will be calculated using the calculated mass moment
of inertia and the derived equations for the theoretical time period. The polar mass
moment of inertia was calculated using the Parallel Axis Theorem. Different properties
of the equipment, variations and actual measurements will affect the results. Figure
below displays a schematic diagram of Trifilar suspension.
Schematic Diagram of the Trifilar Suspension Setup

The Trifilar suspension method shown in Figure can be used to determine the mass and
moment of inertia of an object very accurately.
The platform of the apparatus was displaced through a small angle and set in oscillation.
Taking the moments about the z axis:
−r ( mp+m ) g sin ∅−( I p + I ) α + 0

Where ø is the angular displacement of the wires, α is the angular acceleration of the
platform, Ip and I are the moments of inertia of the platform and the object respectively.

For small angle displacements, say β, sinβ = β, so ø = (rθ )/L

Substituting equations,

(mp+m) g r 2 θ
α+ =0
(I p + I )

Since the motion is simple harmonic the period of the motion is:
 ( I p+ I ) L
T =2 π
√ ( mp+ m ) g r 2

Hence the motion of inertia of the empty platform without any object on it is:

(m p g r 2)
2
I p=T p
4 π2 L

The experiment is first carried out with an empty platform to determine the moment of
inertia for the empty platform and subsequently the moment of inertia for any object can
be determined by the formula below.

Where Tp is the period of oscillation for the empty platform,

The moment of inertia of the experimental object is then:
T 2 ( m p +m ) g r 2
I=
[ 4 π2 L ] −I p

Equations that will calculate polar moment of inertia and periodic rotation are needed.
The moment of inertia of a solid object is obtained by integrating the second moment of
mass about a particular axis. The general formula for inertia is:

I g=mk 2

Ig is the inertia in kgm2 about the mass centre

m is the mass in kg
k is the radius of gyration about mass centre in m.

In order to calculate the inertia of an assembly, the local inertia I g needs to be increased
by an amount m h2

Where,

m is the local mass in kg.

h is the distance between parallel axis passing through the local mass centre and the mass
centre for the overall assembly.
The Parallel Axis Theory has to be applied to every component of the assembly. Thus,
I =∑ ( I g +mh 2)
The polar moments of inertia for some standard solids are:

2
Cylindrical solid mr
I 0=
2
Circular tube m
I tube = (r 2 +r 2 )
2 0 i
Square hollow section m
I sq. section = (a 2 + a 2 )
6 0 i

An assembly of three solid masses on a circular platform is suspended from three chains
to form a Trifilar suspension. For small oscillations about a vertical axis, the periodic
time is related to the Moment of Inertia.

1 3
L
θ θ
Ø Ø Ø
Ø

θ 2
Ø

Dimensions of Trifilar Suspension

θ is the angle between the radius and the tangential reference line.
Therefore by using the equation,
x
sin θ=
R
Since θ is a very small angle
Where, R is the Radius of the circular platform.

dθ
Differentiating θ gives, ω=
dt
d2θ
Then differentiating again gives α= 2
dt

Now,
x F
sin θ= =
L mg

xmg
F=
L

Using the standard equation for Torque,

FR=Iα

Hence

FR= ( xmgL ) R=−Iα

d2θ
Where, x=Rθ and α=
d t2

After simplification the equation becomes

d 2 θ R 2 mgθ
−I ( )
d t2
=
L

------ [1]
Equation for the 2nd order differential SHM is taken as

d2 y 2
2
+ω x=0
dx

------ [2]
Therefore, by drawing comparisons between Equation [1] and Equation [2], an equation
for the angular velocity ω can be derived.
Generalizing the theoretical aspect of the experiment ω can be calculated using
Integration.
θ=θ sin ωt

dθ
=θω cos ωt
dt

d2θ 2
2
=θ ω cos ωt
dt

Putting this in Equation [1], an equation for the angular velocity can be determined.

Therefore, simplifying Equation [1] using the value for the angular acceleration the
equation becomes
I¿

This simplifies further to

2 R2 mg
I ( ω )=
L

Therefore the angular velocity

mg R2
ω=
√ LI

The time period is inversely proportional to the angular velocity and hence can be
calculated to compare with the experimental time period.

Using the equation,

2π
T=
ω

The theoretical periodic time can be calculated in terms of the mass and the moment of
inertia.

Hence,
 LI
T =2 π
√ mg R2
------- [3]
Where,
I is thePolar Moment of Inertia
L is the Vertical length of the Trifilar suspension
m is the Mass of the shapes placed on the Circular platform
R is the Radius of the Circular platform

PROCEDURE
The equipment to be used in the experiment is prepared. The Trifilar suspension is
observed before performing the experiment. The reference tangential line was drawn on
the paper to make it correspond with the tip of the circular platform. The Trifilar
suspension was then rotated to check for any irregular rotational movement. The
stopwatch was calibrated for the zero error and the timer was adjusted to zero.

When everything was set, the pointer was kept on the reference line and the circular
platform was allowed to complete one oscillation. Nothing was placed on the platform.
The time for the oscillation is note. The time for the oscillation was noted. This process
was repeated three times and the average periodic time reading was taken into
consideration. The tube was kept next on the circular platform at the centre of gravity
point and the procedure will be repeated 2 more times.

A solid mass was then positioned over the centre of mass of the circular platform and
steps 3 and 4 were repeated.

Then, all the masses (solid mass, square section and cylinder) were placed on the circular
platform. All the masses were positioned at equal distances from the centre and steps 3
and 4 were repeated again.

After getting the required time period for the oscillations, the height of the trifilar
suspension was measured using a measuring tape.

After the test it is now possible to calculate the periodic time using the data from the
tables and derived formulae and compare with the theoretical values.
CALCULATIONS

L = _______ m
R = _______ m
Reading without mass placed:
T1 =
T2 =
T3 =
Tavg. =
Reading with cylinder placed
T1 =
T2 =
T3 =
Tavg. =
Reading with ring placed
T1 =
T2 =
T3 =
Tavg. =
LI
T =2 π

Putting
√ mg R2

Experimental time T= Tavg.

L = length in meter
M = mass in kg
R = radius in meter
So,
I= polar moment of inertia can be calculated from this formula.

CONCLUSION
The moment of inertia of rigid bodies is calculated using the triflar suspension
arrangement.
The experimental periodic time is measured and compared with the calculated theoretical
time. The periodic rotation will be calculated using the calculated mass moment of inertia
and the derived equations for the theoretical time period.
The Theories of Parallel Axis and Moment of Inertia are used to calculate and compare
the experimental and theoretical readings.

After analyzing the experimental and theoretical results the test period for both
theoretical and experimental times respectively were directly proportional to the ratio of

I
√ m

It can be concluded that the theoretical time calculated was similar to the experimental
time measured. This shows that the lab experiment is accurate.

The experiment is successful though there are small possible errors in the experiment.
All of these values agreed within the estimated experimental errors. To improve the
accuracy of the result the experiment should be performed carefully and the instruction
should be followed.

PRECAUTIONS:

 Avoid measurements/ reading errors (stopwatch).

 Wear proper lab clothing’s to ensure safety and protection.
 Masses should be firmly held.
 Set room temperature.