D6

EME3401 - LAB INVESTIGATION 1

REPORT

MASS MOMENT OF INERTIA

Name (as in SEGi ID): OMAIR ALBANI__________________________

SEGi ID: SUKD1901587____________________________
UCLan ID: 201909___________________________________
Group ID: D6_______________________________________
Course Code: EME3401_________________________________
Course Name: Lab Investigation 1 ________________________
Submission Date: _________________________________________

1. Abstract

This experiment was conducted to examine the effects on the mass moment of inertia of a
rotational body when it varies in mass. Amongst the devices used to examine these effects
 is a flywheel. This is done by recording the time taken for the flywheel to rotate a full
revolution when it is being subjected to a fixed magnitude of load. The experiment is then
repeated by attaching a ring and a disk, of different respective masses, to the flywheel.
Subsequent to the experiment, it was observed that the flywheel with the ring and disk
took longer to rotate. This means that it has a greater value of mass moment of inertia
which makes it more suitable in engineering projects that involve higher values of
rotational force, also known as, torque. The mass moment of inertia is calculated by
substituting the data obtained from the experiment which is then compared to the
theoretical one.

2. Objective(s)

To determine and compare the theoretical and experimental value of the mass moment of
inertia of the flywheel and to examine the variations in moment of the flywheel with
different detachable parts of different masses.

3. Introduction/ Theoretical Background

3.1. Importance of Rotational Inertia

The mass moment of inertia is a crucial aspect to any engineering project that involves
rotational motion. The mass moment of inertia is a measure of how hard it is to get a body
to rotate about a fixed axis. Rotational inertia is one of many examples that indicate how
a rotating body is capable of storing kinetic energy. It is also an indicator of the amount of
torque that is needed by the body to accelerate it rotationally. Just like how mass is
inversely proportional to linear acceleration, the moment of inertia is inversely
proportional to rotational acceleration. To get a better understanding of rotational inertia,
a flywheel is commonly used.

3.2. Flywheel Use and Significance

Figure 1 Flywheel
A flywheel is a solid disk of significant size and weight often apparatus diagram
mounted on the shaft of machines such as steam engines, diesel
engines, turbines, amongst many others. Flywheels resist rotational
speed changes; this helps to steady the shaft’s rotation, in cases
where a changing torque is exerted on it. This is done by storing the excess kinetic
energy that results from when the load on the machines begins to decrease and then
supplying to the machine when it is later subjected to larger loads. The magnitude of
kinetic energy that a flywheel could store depends on the mass moment of inertia it
possesses.

3.3. Relationship between Torque and Rotational Acceleration

The flywheel is made to rotate by attaching a load to a metal string that is wrapped
around the flywheel’s axle. For a flywheel with a solid disk, its theoretical mass moment
of inertia is calculated by using the following formula:-

mr 2
I=
2
Where,
m = mass of the flywheel
r = radius of the flywheel

The falling load exerts a force that is related to the torque, T, and the rate of change of
the wheel's angular velocity, which is also known as the angular acceleration, α, of the
flywheel. For rotational motion, Newton’s second law can be adopted to give a better
representation of the relationship between the applied torque, T and angular acceleration,
α.

T =I . α

1 2
Just as linear displacement can be represented by s=ut + a t , angular displacement
2
can be represented by

1
θ=ω0 t + α t 2
2
Where,
ω 0 = angular velocity of the flywheel
t = time taken for the flywheel to complete one revolution
 Thus, for one complete revolution, an equation for the angular acceleration, α, could be
obtained.

1
2 π =0 t+ α t 2
2

4π
∴α=
t2

4. Apparatus

- Flywheel apparatus
- Set of weights
- Vernier calipers
- Ruler
- Stopwatch
- Scale

5. Experimental Method

5.1. Cautions
- Wore safety boots to be protected in case if any of the weights get accidentally
dropped.
- Stood in a safe distance away from the apparatus in case if any heavy equipment falls
to the ground.
- Made sure that the flywheel was tightly screwed in position so as to prevent it from
wobbling around or potentially slipping off.
- The load was wound up to the same height in all trials to get the results as precise as
possible.

5.2. Method/steps
- The radii of both the flywheel and the torque pulley were measured by using a ruler
and vernier calipers respectively.
 - The mass of the flywheel was then measured by use of the scale.
- A metal cord was wounded around the torque pulley and a load hanger of known
weight was hung from the free end of the cord.
- A load was placed on the load hanger and subsequently, the flywheel wheel was
adjusted so that the arrow marked on it aligns with the arrow marked on the rig.
- Making sure that the stopwatch was set to zero, the time taken for the flywheel to
complete one revolution was recorded.
- As soon as the load was released, the stopwatch button was pressed.
- After 1 revolution, both the flywheel and the stopwatch were stopped simultaneously.
- For every load, the experiment was repeated twice to get an average value of the value
of time taken for the flywheel to complete one revolution.
- The entire experiment was repeated with different sets of loads of different
magnitudes.
- The experiment was repeated once again by attaching both the small disk and the ring
to the flywheel.

6. Results and Analysis

6.1. Sample of Calculations for Tables
After the experiment was over, the time taken (t) and the load on the pulley (W) were
used to calculate the applied torque (T ) and the angular acceleration (α ¿ . The average
time taken was first calculated by using the 3 values of time that were recorded by
determining the mean value as follows:-

t 1+ t 2 +t 3
Average Time Taken(t avg)=
3
4.62+5.10+5.16
¿ =4.96 s
3

The applied torque (T) was then calculated using the total load on the pulley (W) and the
radius of the pulley (rp= 2cm).

Applied Torque ( T )=W ×r p

2
¿ 10 × =0.2 Nm
100
 In order to calculate the angular acceleration (α), the equation obtained from 3.3 was
used.

4π
Angular Acceleration ( α )=
t avg2
4π
¿ 2
=0.51 rad /s 2
4.96

6.2. Tables of Results

The calculations made above were then repeated for all the different readings and the data
was then distributed into the following tables:-

Angular
Total load, W Applied Time taken (s) acceleration,
on torque Torque, T α (rad/s2)
pulley (N) (Nm)
t1 t2 t3 Average t
4.6 5.1 5.1 0.51
10 0.2 4.96
2 0 6
3.1 3.1 3.3 1.20
15 0.3 3.23
6 6 7
2.6 2.9 2.8 1.58
20 0.4 2.82
9 4 4
2.8 2.1 2.3 2.15
25 0.5 2.42
1 0 4
2.1 1.9 2.0 3.08
30 0.6 2.02
0 3 4
1.7 1.8 1.9 3.79
35 0.7 1.82
5 1 1

Table 1 Tabulation of angular acceleration and torque for the flywheel with disk and ring

Angular
Total load, W Applied Time taken (s) acceleration,
on torque Torque, T α(rad/s2)
pulley (N) (Nm)
t1 t2 t3 Average t
3.9 3.8 0.84
10 0.2 3.79 3.87
7 4
15 0.3 2.6 2.6 2.69 2.67 1.76
 8 5
2.2 2.1 2.44
20 0.4 2.37 2.27
8 5
1.6 1.8 3.92
25 0.5 1.81 1.79
8 7
1.6 1.8 4.35
30 0.6 1.62 1.70
5 2
1.6 1.4 5.23
35 0.7 1.57 1.55
9 0

Table 2 Tabulation of angular acceleration and torque for the flywheel without disk and ring

6.3. Graphs and Calculations

0.8 Torque against Angular Acceleration Graph

0.7

0.6
Angular
0.5 Acceleration with
Torque (Nm)

Ring and Disk

0.4
Linear (Angular
0.3 Acceleration with
Ring and Disk)
0.2

0.1

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Angular Acceleration (rad/s2)

Graph 1 Comparison between angular acceleration

For the flywheel with ring and disk:-

Figure 2 Radius of flywheel

Torque(T )
Experimental Mass Moment of Inertia (I ¿¿ exp)= ¿
Angular Acceleration(α )
 ¿ gradient of the graph
0.7−0.2
¿ ¿ 0.1445 kg m 2
3.97−0.51

m r2
Theoretical Mass Moment of Inertia ( I ¿¿ the)= ¿
2

(15.1+3.55+ 3.65 ) x ( 0.125 )2

¿ =0.1742 kg m 2
2

|I the −I exp|
Percentage of Error= x 100
I the
|0.1742−0.1445|
¿ x 100=17.04 %
0.1742

For the flywheel without ring and disk:-

Torque(T )
Experimental Mass Moment of Inertia (I ¿¿ exp)= ¿
Angular Acceleration(α )
¿ gradient of the graph
0.7−0.2
¿ ¿ 0.1139 kg m2
5.23−0.84

m r2
Theoretical Mass Moment of Inertia ( I ¿¿ the)= ¿
2
(15.1)x (0.125)2
¿ =0.1180 kg m 2
2

|I the −I e xp|
Percentage of Error= x 100
I the
|0.1180−0.1139|
¿ x 100=3.475 %
0.1180

7. Discussion
 7.1. Comment on the experimental mass moment of inertia values
Based on the results of the calculations, it can be observed that the flywheel with the
larger accumulative mass (with the ring and disk) had the larger value of mass moment of
inertia. Furthermore, the flywheel with the ring and disk took longer to complete one
revolution. Thus, it can be concluded that the mass of the flywheel is directly proportional
to the mass moment of inertia while the time taken is inversely proportional to it.

7.2. Discrepancy in the theoretical and experimental mass moment of inertia values
According to the calculations, the flywheel with the ring and disk had a 13.565% higher
value of percentage error than the one without the ring and disk. Among the reasons
behind this difference between the experimental and the theoretical values is due to
assumptions, as well as errors made during the experiment. During the experiment, there
were several assumptions that were not taken into consideration when calculating the
mass moment of inertia. One of the assumptions made in the experiment was about
friction. The friction forces between the numerous moving parts of the apparatus were
deemed neglected. Another potential reason for the difference is due to errors both in the
measuring equipment and human sources. For instance, when reading values from the
measuring instruments; some of them being a result of parallax error. To avoid this, the
line of sight should be perpendicular to the instrument. Additionally, human reaction
times are not fast enough to get a precise value of the time measurement. To get a more
accurate reading, a machine could have been used so as to not rely on human limitations.

8. Conclusion

After completing the experiment, the science behind the mass moment of inertia had been
disclosed. This stems from the impact of mass and radius of the flywheel as stated in the
equation in 3.3. From here, it can be concluded that as the mass and the radius of the
flywheel increases, the moment of inertia increases accordingly. However, in the
comparison of the experimental value to the theoretical one, it was found that there was a
considerable amount of deviation. This might be the result of human mistakes and/or
energy lost due to friction. Thus, explaining why it is incomparable with the theoretical
one as it was not set in ideal conditions.

9. References
1. http://www.explainthatstuff.com , Flywheels, (November 12, 2013), Woodford C.
2. http://blog.oureducation.in, Moment Of Inertia Of A Flywheel By Falling Weight
Method, (2019), Shilpa Ranjam
3. John Wiley & Sons Inc., Engineering Mechanics Dynamics. 6th edition.,(2015),
Meriam J.