Mechanical Engineering

School of Engineering and Physical Sciences

UNDERGRADUATE REPORT
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MODULE No: B58ED_2008-2009)

MODULE TITLE: Mechanical Engineering Science
ASSIGNMENT TITLE: Laboratory Report : Trifilar Suspension
Lecturer: Dr. Hisham

Year: 2 Term: 2 Session: 2

Grade: Name: HITESH PATHAK

Registration Number: 071286471

Marker’s Initials: Term Address:

Email: Hp35@hw.ac.uk

Submission Date:

Group/Group Members: GROUP B

(If applicable)
 1. Introduction

Moment of inertia, also called mass moment of inertia or the angular mass, is the rotational
analogue mass. That is, it is the inertia of a rigid rotating body with respect to its rotation. The
moment of inertia plays much the same role in rotational dynamics as mass does in basic
dynamics, determining the relationship between angular momentum and angular velocity, torque
and angular acceleration, and several other quantities. While a simple scalar treatment of the
moment of inertia suffices for many situations, a more advanced tensor treatment allow s the
analysis of such complicated systems as spinning tops and gyroscope motion [1].
The moment of inertia of an object about a given axis describes how difficult it is to change its
angular motion about that axis. Mass moment of inertia of a mechanical component plays an
essential role whenever a dynamic analysis is considered important for the design [1].

A trifilar suspension is a type of assembly that makes use of free torsional oscillation. It is used to
determine the moments of inertia of a body about an axis passing through its mass centre. Trifilar
suspensions are commonly used for school workshop experiments. [2] Figure below displays a
standard trifilar suspension arrangement.

Figure 1 displays a schematic of a standard trifilar suspension arrangement.

2. Formulae
Equations that will calculate polar moment of inertia and periodic rotation are needed.

The moment of inertia of a solid object is obtained by integrating the second moment of mass
about a particular axis. The general formula for inertia is [3]:

Ig = mk 2

Where,
Ig is the inertia in kgm2 about the mass centre
m is the mass in kg
k is the radius of gyration about mass centre in m

In order to calculate the inertia of an assembly, the local inertia I g needs to be increased by an
amount mh2

Where,
m is the local mass in kg.
h is the distance between parallel axis passing through the local mass centre and the mass
centre for the overall assembly.

The Parallel Axis Theory has to be applied to every component of the assembly. Thus,
I = ∑(I g + mh 2 )

The polar moments of inertia for some standard solids are:

Cylindrical solid mr 2
I0 =
2
Circular tube m 2 2
I tube = (r 0 + ri )
2
Square hollow section m 2 2
Isq.section = (a 0 + a i )
6

An assembly of three solid masses on a circular platform is suspended from three chains to form
a trifilar suspension. For small oscillations about a vertical axis, the periodic time is related to the
Moment of Inertia.
 Fig

1 3
L
Ø θ θ
Ø Ø
Ø

Ø600 θ 2

ure 3 Dimensions of Trifilar Suspension

Figure 2 Schematic Diagram of the Trifilar Suspension Setup

θ is the angle between the radius and the tangential reference line.
Therefore by using the equation,
s inθ = θ = x Since θ is a very small angle
R
Where, R is the Radius of the circular platform.

dθ
ω=
Differentiating θ gives, dt
d2θ
α=
Then differentiating again gives dt 2

Now,
x F xmg
sinθ = = F=
L mg >>> L

Using the standard equation for Torque, FR = Iα

 xmg  d2θ
FR =  R = −Iα α= 2
Hence  L  where x = Rθ and dt

After simplification the equation becomes

 d 2 θ  R 2 mgθ
− I 2  =
 dt  L [1]
Equation for the 2nd order differential SHM is taken as

d2 y
+ ω2 x = 0
dx 2 [2]

Therefore, by drawing comparisons between Equation [1] and Equation [2], an equation for the
angular velocity ω can be derived.

Generalizing the theoretical aspect of the experiment, w can be calculated using Integration.

dθ d2θ
= θωcos( ωt ) = θω 2 sin( ωt )
θ = θsin( ωt ) >> dt >> dt
2

Putting this in Equation [1], an equation for the angular velocity can be determined.

Therefore, simplifying Equation [1] using the value for the angular acceleration the equation
becomes

R 2mg
I( − ωsin( ωt ) ) + =0
L
R 2mg
I( ω 2 ) =
This simplifies further to L
mgR 2
ω=
Therefore the angular velocity LI

The time period is inversely proportional to the angular velocity and hence can be calculated to
compare with the experimental time period.

2π
T=
Using the equation ω ,

The theoretical periodic time can be calculated in terms of the mass and the moment of inertia.

LI
T = 2π
Hence
mgR 2 [3]

Where,

I is the Polar Moment of Inertia

L is the Vertical length of the Trifilar suspension
m is the Mass of the shapes placed on the Circular platform
R is the Radius of the Circular platform
.

2. Results and Calculations

3.1 Data
Technical Data:
Circular Platform
 Weight: 2 kg
 Diameter: 600 mm

Cylinder Weight (mild steel)

 Weight: 6.8 kg
 Diameter: 126 mm

Circular Hollow Tube (mild steel)

 Weight: 2.2 kg
 Diameter(inner): 78 mm
 Diameter(outer): 98 mm

Square Section (mild steel)

 Weight: 2.5 kg
 Area: 100 mm
 Thickness: 6 mm

Trifilar String Length: 2.12m Trifilar Base Radius: 0.33m

Table 1 below shows the recorded time and mass for each load. After doing the necessary
calculations, the theoretical data’s were displayed in a table. The readings were compared to
draw a possible trend. Calculations were then used to plot a graph between the experimental and
the tabulated data.

Load Mass Experimental Polar Moment Theoretical

(kg) Time (sec) Time
Circular Platform 8.8 0.73 0.09 0.80 0.011
 Cylindrical Tube
Circular Platform 13.5 1.38 0.38 1.65 0.028
Cylindrical Tube
Hollow Circular Tube
Square Hallow Section
Circular Platform 2 1.77 0.09 2.06 0.045

Table1 Recorded and Calculated Values (3 sets of

trials)

3.2 Calculations

Mass Moment of Area about the centroid of the weights is calculated.

mr 2 2 × 0.3 2
Circular Platform I0 = = = 0.09 kgm 2
2 2

Hollow Cylinder Weight I0 =

2
(
m 2
r0 + ri 2 ) =
2.196
2
(0.049 2 + 0.039 2 ) = 0.0043 kgm 2
Square Hollow Weight I0 =
6
( a0 + ai2 ) = 2.503
m 2
2
(0.05 2 + 0.047 2 ) = 0.0019 kgm 2

LI
Using the derived equation, T = 2π
mgR 2

T =0.80 sec

Graph:

The graph below displays the comparison between the Theoretical and Measured Periodic times.
Graph 1 show the trend observed when the values for the trials were plotted against time. The
graph shows a linear relationship and the gradient of the slope is positive which shows that this is
a positive slope. The experimental time was calculated using the trifilar suspension and the 3 set
of weights by rotating the circular platform while the experimental time was calculated using the
theory of moment of inertia and the parallel axis theorem.
 Graph 1 Theoretical and Measured Time Chart
Graph 2 shows the comparison between the experimental with calculated time with the ratio of

I . The graph shows a linear relationship and the gradient of the slope is positive which
m
shows that this is a positive slope which shows the directly proportionality of the ratio to the
Experimental time.

Graph 2 Measured Periodic Time Relationship

Graph 3 shows the comparison between the calculated time with the ratio of I .The
m
theoretical slope. The graph shows a linear relationship and the gradient of the slope is positive
which shows that this is a positive slope which shows the direct proportionality of the ratio to the
calculated time. The graph shows that there are small errors in the second set of measurements.

Graph 3 Calculated Periodic Time Relationship

Error analysis:

The error percentage could be around 10% because there’s a very small difference between the
actual and ideal values we got.

Sources of experimental error:

• Measurements/Readings accuracy (stopwatch)
• The start of the oscillation was not exactly according to the drawn tangential path.
• Room temperature and pressure
• The stability of the apparatus and equipments
• Calculations
Resolution to experimental errors:
• Avoid measurement/readings errors (stopwatch)
• Wear proper lab clothing’s to ensure safety and protection.
• Masses should be firmly held
• Set room temperature
 3. Conclusion

The moment of inertia of rigid bodies is calculated using the triflar suspension arrangement.

The experimental periodic time is measured and compared with the calculated theoretical time.
The periodic rotation will be calculated using the calculated mass moment of inertia and the
derived equations for the theoretical time period.

The Theories of Parallel Axis and Moment of Inertia are used to calculate and compare the
experimental and theoretical readings.

After analyzing the experimental and theoretical results the test period for both theoretical and

Experimental times respectively were directly proportional to the ratio of I .

m

It can be concluded that the theoretical time calculated was similar to the experimental time
measured. This shows that the lab experiment is accurate.

The experiment is successful though there are small possible errors in the experiment. All of
these values agreed within the estimated experimental errors. To improve the accuracy of the
result the experiment should be performed carefully and the instruction should be followed.