CIRCULAR MOTION (VEHICLE ON LEVEL ROAD)

When vehicles go through turnings, they travel along a nearly circular arc. There must be some force
which will produce the required acceleration. If the vehicles go in a horizontal circular path, this resultant
force is also horizontal. Consider the situation in which a car of weight mg is moving on a horizontal
circular road of radius r with a constant velocity v.
The external forces acting on the car are
 weight mg
 normal contact force N
 friction Fs
The tyres have a tendency to slip outwards. Hence, the frictional forces act towards the centre. Thus, for
a safe turn we must have

However, there is a limit to the magnitude of the frictional force. If ms is the coefficient of friction between
the tyres and the road, the magnitude of friction cannot exceed msN. We know that
N = mg

Hence, if a car takes a turn at a velocity greater than v, then it will skid outwards.
BANKING OF ROAD (FRICTION)
Friction is not always reliable at circular turns if high speeds and sharp turns are involved. To avoid
dependence on friction, the roads are banked at the turn so that the outer part of the road is somewhat
lifted up as compared to the inner part.
 

 
The surface of road and hence, even the normal force of contact make an angle q with horizontal and
vertical respectively.
 

 
The angle q depends on the speed of the vehicle as well as the radius of the turn. Roads are banked for
the average expected speed of the vehicles. If the speed varies slightly from the average expected speed,
then the self adjustable friction comes into play.
If there is a great variation from the average expected speed, even maximum friction cannot prevent the
vehicle from slipping.

We will now repeat the analysis when friction does come into play, which is usually the case.
 

Divide (2) by (1)

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