University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore

Department of Mechanical Engineering (Batch 2020)

Submitted by: Obaidullah Amjad

Roll No:2020-ME-43
Section: A

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 Experiment No. 02

Statement:
To determine the Radius of gyration of a disc on an inclined
plane.

Purpose:
Determine and study of radius of gyration.

Apparatus:
 Stop watch
 Vernier Caliper
 Inclined plane
 Meter rod

Procedure
 Arrange apparatus for measurement.
 adjust the level of inclined plane with the help of leveling screws.
 Measure the heights of the inclined plane as h1 and h2 using a meter rod.
 Measure the length of the inclined plane L using meter rod.
 find radius of the disc R and radius of its spindle r by using digital Vernier caliper.
 The distance travelled by the disc
 S = L − 2R
 Roll the disc from the top of the inclined plane.
 Start the stopwatch at the same time and note the time t for the disc to reach the bottom
of the inclined plane.
 find mean value t average. of all value
 Now calculate angular velocity using the formula
ω = 2S/Rt
 Now calculate the radius of gyration of the disc with the help of the formula as follow
 Ke = [2g(h1 − h2)]1/2/ω
 Repeat the experiment two more times with changed heights of the inclined plane.
 Calculate the value of radius of gyration theoretically using the formula
 Kt = 0.707R
 Compare the experimental and theoretical values of the radius of gyration and find
percentage deviation.

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Observation
Disc Radius = R = 7.25cm
Spindle Radius = r = 0.625cm
Inclined Length = L = 168.5cm
Distance travelled by the disc = S = L - 2R = 154cm

no of Angular
height(cm) Time(sec) K
obs Velocity

h1 h2 t1 t2 t3 tavg W=2s/rt Kexp Kt

1 17.2 10 22.4 22.7 22.5 22.5 21.8 5.45 5.13
2 23.8 10 16.1 16.6 16.3 16.3 30.1 5.46 5.13
3 21.6 10 17.7 18 17.9 17.9 27.4 5.5 5.13
4 19.6 10 19.9 19.9 20 19.9 24.6 5.58 5.13

Mean percentage error 2.175%

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Graph
Graph between experimental and theoretical values.

5.58
5.5
5.45 5.46

5.13 5.13 5.13 5.13

1 2 3 4

Experimental Theoretical

Theory
A flat, thin, circular object is called disc

Radius of Gyration
“Radius of gyration of a body about an axis of rotation is defined as the radial distance of a
point from the axis of rotation at which, if whole mass of the body is assumed to be
concentrated, its moment of inertia about the given axis would be the same as with its actual
distribution of mass. It is denoted by "k".”

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“Mathematically the radius of gyration is the root mean square distance of the object's parts
from either its center of mass or a given axis, depending on the relevant application. It is
actually the perpendicular distance from point mass to the axis of rotation.”

Moment of inertia
“The Moment of Inertia, otherwise known as the angular mass or rotational inertia, of a rigid
body is a tensor that determines the torque needed for a desired angular acceleration about a
rotational axis; similar to how mass determines the force needed for a desired acceleration.”
It depends on the body's mass distribution and the axis chosen, with larger moments requiring
more torque to change the body's rotation. It is an extensive (additive) property: for a point
mass the moment of inertia is just the mass times the square of perpendicular distance to the
rotation axis. The moment of inertia of a rigid composite system is the sum of the moments of
inertia of its component subsystems.
When a body is rotating, or free to rotate, around an axis, a torque must be applied to change
its angular momentum. The amount of torque needed to cause any given angular
acceleration (the rate of change in angular velocity) is proportional to the moment of inertia of
the body. Moment of inertia may be expressed in units of kilogram meter squared (kg·m2)
in SI units and pound-foot-second squared (lb·ft·s2) in imperial or US units.

Rigid body
If a mechanical system is constrained to move parallel to a fixed plane, then the rotation of a
body in the system occurs around an axis k̂ perpendicular to this plane. In this case, the
moment of inertia of the mass in this system is a scalar known as the polar moment of inertia.
The definition of the polar moment of inertia can be obtained by considering momentum, kinetic
energy and Newton's laws for the planar movement of a rigid system of particles.
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Errors:
 The observations and results show that there is some error or deviation of the experimental
values from the theoretical ones.
 This may be due to imbalance of inclined plane, improper rolling of the disc, slip factor of the
disc or some human negligence.
 It may be due to friction and inappropriate use of stopwatch

Solution
 By proper lubrication and precise use of stopwatch, we can reduce the chances of errors.
 Further, the deviation decreases with increase in the height of the inclined plane.
 This can probably be because of better and easy rolling down of the disc from a higher position
as compared to a lower one

Application
 Then radius of gyration can be used to characterize the typical distance travelled by this point.
 It is used to predict buckling in a compression member or beam.
 To find rotational dynamic quantities of any irregular shaped body.
 Radius of gyration can be used as center of mass in simple words about the point where whole
mass is assumed to be concentrated. So, we can use it to find rotational kinetic energy.
 Practically used in airplanes and other automobiles which need a balance but have irregular
shape. So, they use radius of gyration for its calculations.

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