The objective of this experiment is to make a comparison between the efficiency of

different bearing materials by determining the resistance of friction to rotation. The bearing
materials which are being used in this experiment are tufnol, cast iron and ball bearing. The
fundamental device comprises of single flywheel on a horizontal shaft which both closures
will be connected with the center section of testing bearings. A weight load is hang up on the
shaft of flywheel by using string The amount of weight load which required for each bearing
material to initiate rotation of flywheel at constant speed is entirely different. Besides that,
grease lubricant is also used to test the resistance of friction to rotation of the bearing
materials. Based on the data obtained, contrast between materials of bearing used are shown
clearly. Therefore, the tendency for rotation of the flywheel depends on the frictional
resistance of bearing materials.

INTRODUCTION
The word "bearing" incorporates the meaning of "to bear," in the sense of "to
support," and "to carry a burden." This refers to the fact that bearings support and carry the
burden of revolving axles. The application of bearings are beneficial to our daily life these
days especially for various industries that rely on machinery Plain bearings are composed of
just the bearing surface with no rolling elements and have a high load-carrying capacity while
rolling element bearings are built to handle both radial and thrust loads which are relatively
small. The jewel bearings are plain bearings with a metal spindle that turns in a jewel-lined
pivot hole which usually used in mechanical watches or clocks whereas fluid bearings are
used in high load, high speed or high precision applications. On the other hand, the magnetic
bearings carry the loads by relying on the magnetic fields while the flexure bearings are
similar as hinge, in which motion is supported by a load element that bend.
In this experiment, different type of bearing materials is being used to test whether how much
load is needed to make flywheel to rotate with constant speed under different condition is
determined. Furthermore, grease oil is also being introduced to investigate the efficiency of
bearing in minimizing the friction caused by the rotational motion of shaft.

Discussion

Based on the results obtained, it is shown that the most weight load needed initiate the
rotation of flywheel is tufnol without grease application whereas the least weight load
required is ball bearing. When pulling force is applied onto the flywheel, the horizontal shaft
start to rotate due to the kinetic energy generated by the pulling force and gravitational force
of weight load.

The configuration of the ball bearing separates the rotating shaft from the fixed
bearing frame with free rolling elements while different type of material surfaces are adopted
by the other types of bearing to reduce the sliding friction rotation of horizontal shaft. Thus,
the ball bearings encounters a much smaller friction comparing to the other bearings.
Furthermore, a small layer of lubricant has been added on to the surface of ball bearing to
eliminate power loss and starting strain. Besides, the use of ball bearings also help to save
cost as no adjustment, repair or attention is necessary other than periodical lubrication. As a
summary, the advantages of ball bearing enable it to become more popular than other types of
bearing as well as increment of its usage in various industrial fields.

The quantity of weight load needed for flywheel to rotate with constant speed is
affected by some factors. One of the utmost factors is the application of grease. Grease is a
solid to semi-fluid product of dispersion of a thickening agent in liquid lubricant. The
lubricating grease is formed by three main components which are oil, thickener and additives.
The function of grease is to remain in contact with and lubricate moving surfaces without
leaking out under the force of gravity, centrifugal action or being squeezed out under
pressure. Its major practical requirement is that it retains its properties under shear forces at
all temperatures it experiences during use. Therefore, it has been used widely on a lot of
machineries as it is less costly and has high consistency.

Error Analysis

By comparing the data in two tables above, it can be seen that the coefficient of
rotational friction of the theoretical data is higher than the experimental data. This is because
some errors have occurred when running the experiments. One of the error is that the force
applied to pull the flywheel is not constant as the amount of force required for each bearing
material to start the rotation is different. Besides that, the status of the apparatus is not closely
inspected before the experiment is carried out. Furthermore, the deviation of the experimental
data from the theoretical data can also be caused by the imbalance amount of greased applied
onto the bearings due to careless when applying it. Moreover, error in obtaining the result
exists when wrong measurements are made by the observer. Last but not least, excessive
friction and energy loss can be the causes with the coating of the bearing and flywheel.

Conclusion
By observing the tabulated data, the coefficient of rotational friction for the surface
of testing bearing is smaller when the weight quantity needed to make the flywheel to rotate
with constant speed is lower. Besides that, the amount of weight load required will be
minimized by the presence of grease application because of the formation of lubrication layer
that can help to decrease the coefficient of rotational friction. To prevent and minimize the
experimental errors , status of the experimental apparatus need to be inspected carefully in
order to ensure its functionality so that the accurate experimental results can be obtained.
Lastly, it is important to repeat the experiment procedures for several times to determine the
average value as this can help to reduce the deviation of experimental data from its respective
theoretical value.