Subject: Mechanics of Materials lab

Semester: Spring 2023

Lab Engineer: Engr. Hassan Nawaz

Submitted By: Muhammad Waqar

Reg Id: Section

211260 A

MT-213-L
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS-LAB

Department of Mechatronics & Biomedical Engineering

Air University Islamabad
 Experiment No. 02

Objective:
To verify Hook's law and determine the spring constant (k) of a given spring;
Apparatus:
Vertical spring arrangement, elastic spring, standard attachable weights, pointerattachable
to the end of the spring, hook attachable to the spring with a pan to hold weights, ruler.
Apparatus Setup:

Theory:
Hooke's law in simple terms says that within elastic limit, strain is directly proportional to
stress.
In other words, it can be defined as "Within the elastic limit, the extension or compression
(deformation) of an elastic material is directly proportional to the axial load applied".
Mathematically, Hooke's law can be represented as:
F = -k x
x is the displacement of the end of the string from its equilibrium position
F is the force applied on the material; and
k is the spring constant

Applications of Hooke's Law Experiment:

Hooke's law is used to determine the yield point of a material. This is crucial for selecting
materials which will subject to heavy loads. Examples of its application include designing
springs for shock absorbers and dampening vibrations in machines.

Procedure:

1. Suspend the spring by attaching to the spring.

2. Attach the hook with the pan to the end of the spring.
3. Note the initial reading of the pointer against the ruler.
4. Place a known weight on the pan.
5. Note the displacement x of the pointer.
 6. Repeat steps 5 and 6 with different weights (5 trials).
7. For each case, calculate the force constant k using the formula k = W/x,
where W is product of the mass and g (9.8 m/s²).
8. Find the average of the spring constants calculated. This is the final spring constant.

Observations and Calculations:

Expansion
Initial Displacement: x1 =15 mm

Actual Spring
Weight Displacement
Sr. Displacement Constant
No W= mg x2 x = x2 – x1 k = W/x
(N) (mm) (mm) (N/mm)
1 15 34 19 0.78
2 30 64 49 0.61
3 45 99 84 0.53
4 60 140 125 0.48
5 75 174 159 0.47

Sources of Error:

1) Systematic error:
These error occur consistently and effect all measurement in the same way .They
can arise from flaws in experiment design, calibration error or inaccuracies in
measurement system
2) Random error:
These error occur inconsistently and effect all measurement in the unpredictable
way .They can arise from variation in environment ,imperfect equipment or human
error
3) Human error:

These are the error which occur due to mistake made by the experimenter, such
as misreading instruments, miscalculation or incorrect data recording

4) Measurement Error:

These can occur when the measurement instruments are not calibrated
correctly, or when the experimenter does not take the proper precautions to
minimize measurement uncertainty.
Conclusion:

In this lab experiment we did learn about the stress starin diagram, which is a material
dependent graph. In which there’s exist two elastic and plastic regions. In elastic region
there’s exist a proportional limit, in which stress is directly proportional to strain
(deformation) produced in a body, basically this forms the basis of Hook’s law the main
task that we varified in this lab afterwards.