INSTRUCTION MANUAL

ME 080 Friction on Horizontal & Inclined Plane

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Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this manual is accurate; however no liability is accepted
for errors. Should an error be discovered please inform the company in writing, giving full details. Any experimental results given
are for guidance only and are not guaranteed as exact answers that can be obtained for a given apparatus; due to the complex
variables applicable to most experiments.

EdLabQuip GmbH
Peiner Str. 157E, 30519 Hannover, Germany
www.edlabquip.com
sales@edlabquip.com
Tel: +49 511 56 37 98 70
 ME 080 Friction on Horizontal & Inclined Plane

CONTENTS

1. General Description ………………………………………….. 2

2. Installation …………………………………………………. 3
3. Maintenance ………………………………………………….. 3
4. Servicing Safety ………………………………………………….. 3
5. Theory ………………………………………………….. 4
6. Experiments ………………………………………………….. 6
6.1 Object of the Experiments ………………………………………………….. 6
6.2 The Apparatus ………………………………………………….. 6
6.3 Experiment ONE ………………………………………………….. 6
6.4 Experiment TWO ………………………………………………….. 7
6.5 Experiment THREE ………………………………………………….. 7
6.6 Experiment FOUR ………………………………………………….. 8
6.5 Experiment FIVE ………………………………………………….. 8
6.6 Conclusions ….. …………………………………………….. 9
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 ME 080 Friction on Horizontal & Inclined Plane

1. General Description

1 2 3 4

7 6 5
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1 Slider
2 Angle scale
3 Loading cord
4 Pulley
5 Load hanger
6 Foot
7 Base stand

The apparatus is illustrated in the photo shown above.

It consists of a ground steel plane that can be tilted 45° - 0 – 45° and be locked in
any position. The angle of inclination is measured by a scale and pointer. A set of
sliders and a ball bearing carriage are available. The sliders are faced with different
materials and the plane is steel. The force, F, along the plane is applied by a cord
which passes over a pulley at the end of the plane and has a load hanger attached
thereto.
The apparatus is supplied with a set of weights a load hanger.

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 ME 080 Friction on Horizontal & Inclined Plane

2. Installation

The apparatus is designed for wall mounting and is illustrated installed in the photo
in page 2. Before installing and operating the unit, the following must be done:
- Remove all packing materials and wipe with a soft cloth to remove any dust.
- Mount the apparatus on a bench horizontally, using the adjusting feet. A spirit
level may be used for the initial setting.
- Place the slider under test on the track of the apparatus.
- Connect the loading cord to the hook of the slider, then pass the cord over the
pulley and connect the end of the cord to the load hanger.
- More relevant detailed instructions are found under each of the experiments in
section 6.

3. Maintenance
As required,
- Lightly oil the pulley bearing, and other bearing and ensure smooth operation.

4. General Servicing Safety

- Personnel in contact with oil and solvents may contract skin dermatitis. To
reduce the risk of infection, creams should be applied to the hands and suitable
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gloves worn. When using solvents the area should be well ventilated, preferably
by a forced draught.
- In addition, it is desirable that all personnel should wear eye-shields and a filter
mask with an organic protection filter.
- Overalls in the form of a lab coat or boiler suit should be worn at all times.
- If the service involves moving, weights, no matter how small, protective footwear
must be worn.
- After contact with oil and solvents, hands should be washed carefully with a
hand cleanser to remove all traces.
- All electrical equipment (wherever applies) must be disconnected from the
supply before servicing. Where service or maintenance involves the electrical
systems, only qualified personnel should carry out the service.

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 ME 080 Friction on Horizontal & Inclined Plane

5. Theory
Consider a block at rest on a horizontal plane. The block has a weight of W and
there is a normal reaction force N. The force N is clearly equal to and opposite in
sign to W.

N N

 R
W W

Now suppose that a horizontal force is applied to the block, as shown in the
diagram. Due to friction the block remains stationary. The applied force F and the
weight W have a resultant force R which is at an angle  with the normal to the
plane, such that:
F
tan  
W
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To balance the force R there must be an equal and opposite force N.

If the force F is increased and the block is still at rest then N will increase and so will
the angle . eventually the block will begin to move and the coefficient of friction µ us
given by:
F  N
When the block begins to move  will have its maximum value which is , where:
tan   
The angle  is the angle which N makes with the plane and is called the Angle of
Friction.
Consider an inclined plane, at an angle b to the horizontal. The block remains at rest
and the reaction N must balance the weight W of the block. The force N therefore
takes up an angle  with the normal to the plane.

N


 W

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 ME 080 Friction on Horizontal & Inclined Plane

The normal pressure of the block on the plane is W cos . The component of W
acting along the plane is W sin . If the angle of inclination of the plane, , is
increased until the block just begins to move, then:
The force acting down to the plane = µ W cos 
which also = W sin 
Hence: µ = tan  = tan 
where  is the Angle of Friction.
Thus the coefficient of friction between the block and the plane is the tangent of the
angle at which the block just begins to slide down the plane.
When the plane is at an angle  less that  then a force F must be applied to the
block to make it move down the plane with uniform speed.
F = µ W cos  – W sin 
When the plane is at an angle greater than  then a force must be applied up the
plane so as to lower the block at a constant speed.
Then: F = W sin  - µ W cos 

Consider an inclined plane again. To move the block up the plane when the angle of
inclination is less than the angle of friction we must apply a force F.
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F = µ W cos  + W sin 

N F

W sin

 W

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 ME 080 Friction on Horizontal & Inclined Plane

6. Experiments

6.1 Object of the Experiments

The object of the experiment is to measure the coefficient

6.2 The Apparatus

The apparatus is illustrated in the photo section 1 of this manual. It consists of a
ground steel plane that can be tilted 45° - 0 – 45° and be locked in any position. The
angle of inclination is measured by a scale and pointer. A set of sliders and a ball
bearing carriage are available. The sliders are faced with different materials and the
plane is steel. The force, F, along the plane is applied by a cord which passes over a
pulley at the end of the plane and has a load hanger attached thereto.

6.3 Experiment ONE

- Set the plane horizontal.
- Weigh a slider and place it on the plane.
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- Attach the load cord and place the hanger on the end of the cord.
- Add weights until the slider just begins to move.
- Note the load (and hanger) giving the force F and the weight of the slider.
- Place a weight on the slider and again determine the load F required to just start
moving the slider.
- Try about three weights in the slider and tabulate your results as below.
- Try at least three different sliders.

Slider material:
Slider weight (N) Applied force (F) Coefficient of friction (F/N)

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 ME 080 Friction on Horizontal & Inclined Plane

6.4 Experiment TWO

- Weigh a slider and place it on the plane.
- Slacken the plane clamp and slowly tilt the plane until the slider just begins to
move.
- Some care will be required in order to obtain accurate results.
- Tabulate your results as below and calculate the remaining columns.
- You should try about three or four masses in the slider to obtain a set of results
to determine an average value.

Slider material:
Slider weight (N) Plane agnle () tan  = µ
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6.5 Experiment THREE

- Incline the plane to an angle less than the angle of friction with the pulley at the
lowest end of the plane.
- Weigh a slider and place it on the plane.
- Determine the weight F required to make the slider move down the plane at a
slow uniform speed.

Slider material: Plane angle  =

Slider weight (N) F  W sin 
F (N) W sin  W cos  
W W cos 

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 ME 080 Friction on Horizontal & Inclined Plane

6.6 Experiment FOUR

- Incline the plane so that the pulley is at the higher end.
- Set the plane angle to be greater than the angle of friction.
- Weigh a slider and place it on the plane.
- Place a load F on the hanger to prevent it moving.
- Gradually reduce the load F, until the load F can be determined which lowers
the load at which a slow steady speed.
- Tabulate your results as below.

Slider material: Plane angle  =

Slider weight (N) Load F F  W sin 
W sin  W cos  
W (N) W cos 
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6.7 Experiment FIVE

- Incline the plane as before and determine F to move the slider up the plane at a
slow uniform speed
- Tabulate your results as below.

Slider material: Plane angle  =

Slider weight (N) Load F F  W sin 
W sin  W cos  
W (N) W cos 

In all cases try a range of different materials and plane angles.

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 ME 080 Friction on Horizontal & Inclined Plane

6.8 Conclusions
Compare the values for the coefficient of friction found in each experiment for the
same material. How well do the values agree?
Account for any discrepancies.
Draw up a table of the different materials with the values of µ found by experiment.
Compare your values of µ with those given in text books and data books.
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