ME 244L

PBL

Name : Muhammad Huzaifa

Reg No : 2018287
Group : 07
PBL Question : 03
Literature Review
The premise of this device is to provide an affordable,
portable, and moddable platform to perform experiments
on rotating, non-inertial frames of reference.
Major components of Circular Kinematic meter are:
1. Arduino
2. Stepper motor
3. Motherboard
4. Accelerometer Device
5. Sensor
Arduino is a microcontroller which is used to write and
upload computer code to the physical board.
Stepper motor in our device is used to rotate the platform
used in our experiment. It is used because it rotates by
performing steps, that is by moving in fixed number of
degrees.
Motherboard in our device is the central hub which is
attached to all major components and measures the
angular velocity, RPM of motors and the direction of the
rotating disk.
Accelerometer Device is used to sense orientation and
coordinate acceleration.
Two Sensors are used. One is the receiver placed on a
stand and an IR transmitter located on the rotating disk
which sends the signals.
Methodology
⦁ Rotating Polar disk:
It refers to the circles with different radii printed on the
moving platform with markings on it. On one part of the
disk the IR transmitter is placed as well. The grid allows
for polar graphs to be constructed for analysis. It rotates
with a particular angular velocity by virtue of the stepper
motor.
⦁ IR sensor:
An infrared sensor is an instrument that senses and
measures its surroundings by emitting or absorbing
infrared radiations. In the case of the cirkinemeter it is
located on the rotating platform, a detector is placed on a
stand in parallel to it as shown. When they come in line
two times the change in time is measured which allows the
apparatus to calculate the angular velocity.
⦁ Motherboard:
The motherboard is a core device with vital importance. It
receives the signals in analogue form from the detector
and the Arduino converts it into a digital one which is
processed to calculate the velocity. It also measures the
motors RPM and direction.
⦁ Accelerometer:
This device measures the centripetal acceleration directly
and registers it using signals and the Arduino on the
connected display device.
Modeling & Design
Model of the device can be made by following given steps:
a. Construct the mount and base housings by joining
the regions.
b. Build the sensor stand.
c. Modify the Spinning Disk
d. Attach Disks to the Motor
e. Assemble the motherboard
f. Assemble the Accelerometer Device.

Circular Motion Analysis

Uniform circular motion is a specific type of motion in
which an object travels in a circle with a constant speed.
For example, any point on a propeller spinning at a
constant rate is executing uniform circular motion. Other
examples are the second, minute, and hour hands of a
watch. It is remarkable that points on these rotating
objects are actually accelerating, although the rotation rate
is a constant.
In one-dimensional kinematics, objects with a constant
speed have zero acceleration. However, in two- and
three-dimensional kinematics, even if the speed is a
constant, a particle can have acceleration if it moves along
a curved trajectory such as a circle. In this case the
velocity vector is changing, or
𝑑𝑣/𝑑𝑡 ≠ 0

As the particle moves counterclockwise in time 𝑡 on the

circular path, its position vector moves from 𝑟(𝑡)to 𝑟(𝑡 + 𝑡)
. The velocity vector has constant magnitude and is
tangent to the path as it changes from 𝑣(𝑡)to 𝑣(𝑡 + 𝑡)
changing its direction only. Since the velocity vector 𝑣(𝑡) is
perpendicular to the position vector 𝑟(𝑡) the triangles
formed by the position vectors and𝑟 and the velocity
vectors and 𝑣 are similar. Furthermore, since

|𝑟(𝑡)| = |𝑟(𝑡 + 𝑡)|

and

|𝑣(𝑡)| = |𝑣(𝑡 + 𝑡)|

the two triangles are isosceles. From these facts we can

make the assertion

𝑣 𝑟
𝑣
= 𝑟
 𝑣
𝑣 = 𝑟
𝑟

Velocity vectors forming a triangle. The two triangles in

the figure are similar. The vector 𝑣points toward the center
of the circle in the limit 𝑡 → 𝑣 .

We can find the magnitude of the acceleration from

2
𝑣 𝑣 𝑟 𝑣
𝑎 = lim ( ) =
𝑡 𝑟
( lim 𝑡
) = 𝑟
𝑡→0 𝑡→0

The direction of the acceleration can also be found by

noting that as 𝑡 and therefore θ approach zero, the vector
𝑣 approaches a direction perpendicular to 𝑣. In the limit
𝑡 → 𝑣, 𝑣 is perpendicular to 𝑣Since 𝑣is tangent to the
circle, the acceleration 𝑑𝑣/𝑑𝑡 points toward the center of
the circle. Summarizing, a particle moving in a circle at a
constant speed has an acceleration with magnitude
2
𝑣
𝑎 𝑐
= 𝑟
The direction of the acceleration vector is toward the
center of the circle . This is a radial acceleration and is
called the centripetal acceleration,

References
● https://www.instructables.com/Cirkinemeter-Arduino
-Based-Circular-Kinematics-Pla/
● https://www.instructables.com/THE-KINEMETER-P
art-1-the-Kinematic-Tool/
● https://courses.lumenlearning.com/physics/chapter/
10-2-kinematics-of-rotational-motion/
● https://opentextbc.ca/universityphysicsv1openstax/c
hapter/4-4-uniform-circular-motion/
● https://www.researchgate.net/publication/29234228
5_Kinematic_measurements_using_an_infrared_se
nsor