A N A LY Z E L O A D S A N D M O T I O N

Outcome 2.3: Understands moving loads with friction and incline

factors.
Friction increases the force required to move a given load along a surface. If a load resting on a horizontal
surface is lifted vertically, there is no friction between the surface and the load, just the dead weight of
the load. If the load is pushed horizontally, friction between the load and the surface increases the force
required to move the load. How much the force is increased is determined by the friction factor. The
force required to move a load along a horizontal surface is computed as the product of the friction factor
and the weight of the load. That is:
F = Force lb F = Force N Force based
Cf = Coefficient of Friction Cf = Coefficient of Friction
Eq. F = Cf i m i g on coef-
m = massslugs m = massslugs
2.11 g = gravity acceleration9.81m/sec2 ficient of
g = gravity acceleration32.17 ft/sec2
mg = weight/loadlb mg = weight/loadN friction

If an object/load is resting upon an inclined surface/plane then the forces across that object are due to
the angle of the incline and the weight of the load. Resolving the weight (mg) into two components
shows that we have four (4) forces working on the object.(Fig. 2-14) There is the Normal force being
exerted upon the object and the incline has an equal resistive force that acts perpendicular to the
inclined plane. In addition, there is the Friction force which is a function of the material
surfaces coefficent of friction and the Acceleration force which can be positive or negative
depending on the direction of movement if any. Of course, loads being pushed up an incline
require more force than loads being pushed down an incline. The solution to problems where a load is
being pushed along an incline requires solving a right triangle for the relative lengths of the sides. This
can be done with the trigonometric functions, or for common angles by inspection, or the Pythagorean
theorem (a2 + b2 = c2). For example, the length of the sides of a right triangle where θ = 30° are a =
√3, b = 1, and c = 2. Similarly, the lengths of the sides of a right triangle where θ = 45° are a = 1,
b = 1, and c = √2.

The forces acting to move a load up or down an incline can be illustrated as shown in Fig. 2-14. The first
is the Normal force (FN) which acts perpendicular to the surface and is expressed as the result of m x g
x cos θ . This is resisted by the Reaction force of the plane surface to support the load. The second force
vector acts parallel to the incline surface and is called the Friction force (Ff ).The Friction force is calculated
by multiplying the Normal force times the coefficient of friction between the two surfaces and is a force
resisting the downward movement. The final force acting on the object/load is the Acceleration force (Af)
which can be positive or negative depending on direction of travel.

Opposite O b
sin 0= = =
Hypotenuse H c
c
b Adjacent A a
cos 0= = =
Hypotenuse H c
0
Opposite O b
tan 0= = =
a Adjacent A a

Fig. 2-13 Trigonometric Solutions to Right Triangle

Fig. 2-14 Forces of a Load on an Incline

2 - 10 • Pneumatic Specialist Certification Study Manual • 06/08/17

04/01/20
 A N A LY Z E L O A D S A N D M O T I O N

As the angle of the incline increases, the normal force (FN) force decreases. This is because the drag
between the load and the surface of the incline decreases as the angle of incline increases. Note that at an
incline angle of 0˚, the cosine equals 1.0. At an incline angle of 90˚, the cosine equals 0.0.

The acceleration force (Af ) force is a function of the sine of the angle of the incline multiplied by the
weight. The acceleration force necessary to balance the downward force due to gravity, rises as the angle
increases. For example, the sine of 0˚ is zero, reflecting the fact that the load is not being lifted as it
travels across the surface of the incline. If the incline has an angle of 30°, the sine is 0.50. If the angle of
the incline is increased to 45˚, the value of the sine increases to 0.71, reflecting the fact that as the load
moves along the incline, the load also rises vertically a greater amount. Taken to its natural conclusion, if
the angle increases to 90˚, the sine increases to a value of 1.0 and the movement along the incline turns
into a pure lift of the load.
Therefore, as the angle of the incline increases, the normal force component of the equation decreases
and the acceleration force component increases. The total force required to move a load up an incline is
expressed by:
Fti = Total incline force lb Fti = Total incline force N
Cf = Coefficient of friction Cf = Coefficient of friction
Eq. Fti = (Cf i m i g i cos θ ) m = massslugs m = massslugs Force, total
2.12 g = gravity acceleration32.17 ft/sec2 g = gravity acceleration9.81m/sec2 incline
±(sinθ i m i g)
mg = weight/loadlb mg = weight/loadN
cosθ = cosine of angle θ cosθ = cosine of angle θ
sinθ= sine of angle θ sinθ= sine of angle θ

Note that the incline force adds when the load is being moved up an incline, and subtracts when the load
is being moved down an incline.

Moving a load on an incline differs from moving a

load on the horizontal in that the load is lifted or
lowered, and this requires adding potential energy
to, or subtracting potential energy from, the system.

If friction is ignored, the amount of work done to

raise a load is the same if the load is lifted vertically
or moved up an incline. The incline offers a form of
mechanical advantage by reducing the force Fig 2-15 Incline Conveyor
required. The consequence is the distance traveled
is greater. In Fig. 2-16, a 100 lb. load is moved a vertical distance of 1 foot. The work done is calculated by
using formula 2.3, but substituting the term Load for Force, W= L • D; 100 lb. • 1 ft. = 100 ft-lb Note: the
metric formula is the same, only the units would be different.

If the 100 lb. load is moved up a 30° angle, the force required,
ignoring friction, would be reduced.

In a 30° right triangle, the relationship of the sides is: vertical

side length b = 1, hypotenuse length c = 2 and horizontal side
length a = √ of 3. Computing the value of the distance traveled
by the frictionless load along the incline:

sin 30˚ = b/c = opposite/hypotenuse = 1/2 = 0.50

Which says, in effect, that the vertical load of 100 lb. travels
twice as far along the ramp as it is lifted.
Fig. 2-16

Study Manual • 06/08/17

04/01/20 Pneumatic Specialist Certification • 2 -11
 A N A LY Z E L O A D S A N D M O T I O N

Note that since surface friction is negligible, solving for the force exerted to move the load along the incline
using unit values gives:

L1 • D1 = L2 • D2

L2 = (L1 • D1) / D2 = (100 lb. • 1 ft.) / 2 ft. = 50 lb.

Using the second term of equation 2.12; sin 30° • L = 0.5 • 100 ft-lb = 50 ft-lb Since the load is moving
up the incline, the resulting force would be positive.

2 - 12 • Pneumatic Specialist Certification Study Manual • 06/08/17

 A N A LY Z E L O A D S A N D M O T I O N

Review 2.3.1: In the figure shown, a 5,000

N load is pushed horizontally. If the coefficient
of friction between the surface and the load is
0.25, and the cylinder shown has a 3 in. bore
diameter, what minimum air pressure given
would be required to move the load.
a. 0.27 MPa.
b. 0.36 MPa.
c. 0.44 MPa.
d. 0.69 MPa.
e. 1.38 MPa.

Review: 2.3.2: A 750 lb. load is to be pushed up

a 30˚ incline by an air cylinder with a 4 in. bore. If
the coefficient of friction between the surface and lb
0
the load is 0.35, what minimum gauge air pressure 75
will be required to extend the cylinder to move the
load?
a. 24 psig.
b. 35 psig.
c. 48 psig. 0 = 30˚
d. 85 psig.
0 = 30˚
e. 109 psig.

Review 2.3.3: A 2,500 lb. load is to be moved

down a 45˚ incline by an air cylinder extending. If
the coefficient friction between the surface and the
load is 0.28, what load will be placed on the cylin-
der?
.
lb

a. - 495 lb
0

b. - 1,068 lb
50
2,

c. - 1,278 lb
d. - 1,821 lb 0 = 45˚
e - 2,263 lb
0 = 45˚

Review 2.3.4: In Fig. 2-15, if the maximum spring return force were 100 N, what minimum theoreti-
cal air pressure would be required to move a 350 N load up a 30˚ conveyor ramp using a 50 mm bore
cylinder?
a. 0.10 MPa.
b. 0.14 MPa.
c. 0.22 MPa.
d. 0.28 MPa.
e. 0.31 MPa.

Study Manual • 04/16/19

06/08/17 Pneumatic Specialist Certification • 2 -13