Islamic University ‫الجامعة اإلسالمية‬

Faculty of Engineering
Department of Mechanical
‫كليه الهندسة‬
Engineering ‫قسم الهندسة الميكانيكية‬

ME 323 – Theory of Machines Lab

Experiment 6
Flywheel
GRADING TABLE

Name, Family Name: _______________________________ID #:_____________________

Contents Grade Comments

Report (Aim, Objective, Eqp., Theory/Principle) /20
Experimental Execution /20
Observation (Data and/or Graphs) /20
Calculations /10
Analysis /20
Safety /10

Total /100
Aim:

To study basic principle of a Flywheel Apparatus

Objectives:

 To operate the Flywheel apparatus to determine moment of inertia

 To find frictional losses in the flywheel apparatus

Apparatus:

 TM 612 Flywheel (1) Flywheel

Apparatus (GUNT) (2) Shaft, which
simultaneously acts as
 StopWatch
pulley)
 Meter Scale (3) Bearing blocks
 Weights (4) Base plate
(5) 4 screws and dowels
(6) Rope
(7) Weights

TM 612 Flywheel Apparatus (GUNT)

Introduction/Theory:
The fundamental law of rotation about a fixed axis states that the
moment of the external forces referenced to the axis of rotation is
proportional to the angular acceleration of the body.
 Figure 1. Weight Driven Flywheel

The tendency of all bodies to maintain a state of rest or, once moving,
to maintain a state of uniform movement, is attributed to a property of
the body known as inertia. The resistance with which a body opposes
its acceleration is referred to in the case of rotation as mass moment of
inertia J, which must always be referenced to the respective axis of
rotation. The following applies to the mass moment of inertia
referenced to the centre of mass for a solid round pulley.

The moment of the external forces is produced by the rope force Fs of

the weight and the radius of action r of the pulley as follows.
This yields the fundamental law of rotation for the flywheel:

After releasing the weight, the centre of mass theorem gives the
following for the straight-line motion.

The acceleration of the weight is linked to the angular acceleration of

the flywheel by way of the radius r of the pulley

Combining the equations 4, 5, 6 and resolving for acceleration yields

or, for angular acceleration of the pulley,

As the expression is >> 1, the 1 in the denominator of equation 7

can be disregarded,

As the acceleration can most easily be determined via the drop time T
of the weight for a specific distance s, this equation is integrated twice
and resolved for time t
 Figure 2. Drip Distance and Time

Given x = s and T = t, the drop time is

The mass moment of inertia for the flywheel is Js = 0.25 kgm2.

The radius of action of the pulley is r = 11 mm = 0.011 m .

Experimental Procedure:
 Figure 3. Performing the Experiment

 The drop time is measured with a stopwatch.

 Attach desired weights to weight holder and suspend from rope.
 Coil rope by turning the flywheel until weight is at a height of 1 m.
Make sure that the coils of rope are side by side.
 Release flywheel and use stopwatch to measure time taken by
weight to return to the ground.
 The measured times are entered in a table.
 The measurement should be repeated at least three times and
the average value calculated to minimize error. The times
measured can be compared to the values calculated. Stop
flywheel by hand once weight has returned to the ground.

Table of Observation:
Drop times as a function of drive weight
Drop height = 1 m
Weight G 1st time T 2nd time T 3rd time T Average time Time T
in N measured measured measured T calculated
in sec in sec in sec measured in sec
in sec

10

Calculation:

Verify the value of Moment of Inertia for the flywheel using equation 10,
based on the average of measured time values for different weights.

Analysis:

Discuss the results with respect to the following points:

  The difference in measured time and calculated time can be attributed
to what reasons?

 Effect of increasing weight on the effect of friction on the results.

Safety Considerations:
(Mention safety concerns related with the experiment and the equipment)
1.

2.

3.