Investigating the Efficiency of Different Pulley Setups

Aim
In this experiment I will be investigating the efficiency of five
different pulley setups. These are shown below.

Background on pulleys

A pulley one of the simplest mechanical powers or machines consisting

of a grooved wheel/roller(s) for a cord or string to pass over a
mounted block this is used for lifting a mass or changing direction of
power.

A pulley is a force multiplier, when x number of pulley(s) are setup

with x number of wheel/roller(s), you pull on the rope or string
providing tension, from this an upward force is created to lift a load
because the lower pulley block is supported by two parts of the
rope/string.

Example - there are two pulleys both with one roller each, the mass is
0.5 metres from the ground. The pulley has a velocity of two, you have
to pull the end of the rope twice the distance that the mass is
lifted. To lift the load 0.5 metres off the ground, sections of the
rope/string have to be pulled down a total of one metre.

- 2 side by side pulleys with 2 rollers (Reference name 1A)

- 2 side by side pulleys with 3 rollers (Reference name 1B)

- 2 over and under pulleys with 2 rollers (Reference name 1C)

Unfortunately there is not a specific pulley setup that consists of an

over and under pulley with 2 rollers. However there is one that
consists of 3 rollers therefore I will only use the bottom 2 rollers.

This type of formation is slightly different because there are

different size rollers unlike the side by side pulley setups.

- 2 over and under pulleys with 3 rollers (Reference name 1D)

- 2 side / over and under pulley with 1 roller (Reference name 1E)
The reason I have classed this as both types of formation is because
it has the same characteristics for both.

Diagram 1 (1A) Diagram 2 (1B)

Diagram 3 (1C) Diagram 4 (1D)

Diagram 5 (1E)

These are the two basic types of pulley formation, the only thing that
will vary is the number of rollers and the size of them on the over
and under setup. Note, I can not help the size of the rollers or
wheels on the over and under pulley setup.

Plan

I am going to do a series of experiments using a variety of masses,

rollers / wheels and formations of pulley setups.

Apparatus that I will use in the experiments

1 clamp stand this is needed to hang the pulley formations off of.

5.00 Newtons this is needed to make the pulley formations work

correctly.

2 metres of string this is needed to connect the pulley formations

together and to raise the masses.

2 G - clamps this is needed to make sure that the clamp stand does not
move and to clamp the first ruler to the desk.

2 side by side pulleys with 2 rollers this is needed for the

experiment to work.

2 side by side pulleys with 3 rollers this is needed for the

experiment to work.

2 over and under pulleys with 2 rollers this is needed for the
experiment to work.

2 side by side/over and under with 1 roller this is needed for the
experiment to work.

1 Newton metre this is needed to measure the amount of force that is

needed to raises the mass (15cm) range 0 - 10 Newtons

2 rulers this is needed to know how far to raise the mass (measure
from the bottom) and to know how far the string has to be pulled for
it to be raised by 15cm.

Preliminary work and results

Before actually doing my experiment, I have already done a preliminary

test. From this I have gathered some results but more importantly I
have got the experience and knowledge on how to do this experiment.

I have also found possible areas where mistakes can be made and which
will result in possible inaccuracies therefore I will not make them
when I do my actual experiment.

Pulley formation type

Mass raised in Newtons

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

2 side by side pulleys with 2 rollers

5.0 Newtons

1.10 N
1.25 N

1.25 N

2 over and under pulleys with 2 rollers

5.0 Newtons

1.10 N

0.95 N

1.20 N

Hypothesis

In this experiment I believe the pulley formation that is made up of

the largest amount of rollers/wheels but is lightest in overall mass
will be the most efficient.

The pulley formation side by side (see diagram 1A) or the pulley
formation over and under (see diagram 1C) will not affect the
efficiency at all. The reason for this is that the factors which will
alter and change the efficiency of a pulley are:

- The mass of that pulley

- The friction that is produced (is linked with the above factor)

- The size of the rollers/wheels

The larger the mass of the pulley alone, (not including the mass that
is being lifted) the greater the force that is required to raise it.

The larger the mass of the pulley the more friction is produced
between the axle and the wheel when raising the mass. The friction
created could be reduced by using a lubricant, however I will not.

The larger the size of the rollers/

wheels the more contact there is between the string/rope therefore the
larger the wheel the less distance the string/rope has to be pulled to
raise the mass and the less force that has to be used.

I predict that the pulley formation that consists of two side by side
pulleys with three rollers on each (see diagram 1B) will be the most
efficient.

Even though this formation will most likely be the heaviest out of the
five formations that I am going to test, it also has the largest
amount of rollers, that are all large and the same size.

I believe that the more friction caused between the axles and the
rollers, due to the greater pulley weight, will be counter - acted by
the six large sized wheels. The more wheels there are in a pulley
formation the greater the force exerted is multiplied and the larger
the wheels are, the less force is required to lift the mass.

This also explains why I do not believe the pulley formations that
have different sized wheels, even though weighing less in overall mass
will be as efficient as the one I have already mentioned.

Fair test

Mass 5.00 Newtons - this is extremely important because even the

smallest amount of mass change can completely alter my set of results
and would make my investigation invalid.

Using exactly the same pulleys - if for any reason the actual
experiment was to take more than one lesson, it is essential that I
use the same pulleys as the previous lesson because, each pulley
cannot be identical. There will be some differences between them and
that tiny difference could change the result and therefore would be
invalid and useless. The main difference with different pulleys will
be weight and friction (see above) if either of these is different it
will affect efficiency.

The distance the mass is raised from the ground 0.15 m - it is

necessary for the mass to be raised 0.15 m, no more or no less. Also
when each test is repeated it must be done accurately or it would
definitely change the results and make the experiment worthless.

Using the same type and length of string - it is essential to use the
same string because there are so many different types and makes of
string, the weight maybe different, the size and the friction caused
by this may have an effect on the out come of the results.

Using the same Newton metre - it essential to use the same Newton
metre as there are different types of Newton metres each with
different measuring ranges. Even if you use the same make or measuring
range there will be a minute amount of difference between one another
and that difference will change the set of results, the same as the
pulleys that are to be used.

The pulley velocity is always the same because I will always use the
same amount of pulleys.

Safety

Even in the simplest and most harmless experiments, safety precautions

still have to be taken. Within this experiment there are little safety
precautions that I have to take.

Method

- First I am going to get the exact apparatus which I have shown

above.

- Next I am going to use the G -clamp to fix the clamp stand to the
desk so it cannot move and to have the arm of the clamp stand
overhanging the desk so the pulley formations will not come into
contact with it.

- Then I am going to set up the pulley formation "1A" (refer to page

1) so I will know when I have raised it 15cm.

- Then when the mass is exactly at the bottom of the ruler, I will
mark a point on the string where it is at the top of the first roller.
So I know where to measure how far I have to pull the string to raise
the mass 0.15 m off of the ground. I will have to adjust this each
time for each different pulley formation. I am going to use a
different colour marker each time so I will not get confused.

- Then I will attach the Newton metre to the end of the string and
begin to record my results in my table.

- I will repeat each separate test 5 times but if I do not have time I
will only repeat it 3 times to get more accurate results an average
and to see if there are any patterns.

Obtaining evidence

When recording my results I have to make sure that all of the

measurements (the distance pulled for the mass to be raised 0.15
metres) that I take are from the same place.

Also when taking the measurements of the force required to raise the
mass 0.15 metres must be done carefully.

Once I have completed each experiment and gathered all the results, I
will then present them all in a table making them easy to compare and
to see if there are any patterns that emerge.

Once the above is done I can then get the average from the results,
thus getting more accurate results. It is important to repeat as I
said, to get more accurate but also valid and recognizable results.