Eastern Mediterranean University Department of Mechanical Engineering Laboratory Handout

COURSE: Dynamics of Machinery MENG331

Semester: Fall (2011-2012) Name of Experiment: Determination of Moment of Inertia Instructor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Neriman zada
Submitted by: Student No: Group No: Date of experiment: Date of submission: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EVALUATION
Activity During Experiment & Procedure Data , Results & Graphs Discussion, Conclusion & Answer to Questions 30 % 35 % 30 % 5%

Neat and tidy report writing

Overall Mark

OBJECT: To determine the moment of inertia of a flywheel. APPARATUS: A Flywheel, Stop watch, Ruler, Weight Balance THEORY: A flywheel having a mass of m is swung as a compound pendulum about a knife edge. The moment of inertia of the flywheel about its centroidial axis can be determined by measuring the period of its oscillations.

Figure 1: Flywheel swinging as a compound pendulum about a knife edge

Figure 2: Free body diagram of the flywheel. The equation of motion of the system is then found as;

For small angle of oscillations;

then the equation above becomes,

Then the natural circular frequency of the oscillations is given as;

From the relation, Where f is the natural frequency in hertz and equals to;

We can get the moment of inertia as;

Where, T is the period of oscillations in seconds per cycle m is the mass of the flywheel h is the distance between knife edge and center of gravity of the flywheel. PROCEDURE: 1. Weight and record the flywheel by using the weight balance. 2. By using ruler, measure the distance between mass center (G) of the flywheel and the axis of rotation (A).

3. Place the flywheel onto the knife edge. Allow it to stay stationery before starting the experiment. 4. Slightly displace the flywheel from its initial position and release, record the time corresponding to 10-20 cycles of oscillations.

RESULTS AND CALCULATIONS:

1. Calculate the period of oscillations in seconds per cycle, corresponding to the experimental record.

Number of Cycles

Time (sec)

Period of Oscillations (T)

2. Calculate the moment of inertia of the flywheel using the period of oscillations recorded. 3. Tabulate the experimental data with the results and include them in your report.

No. of cycles

Time (sec)

Period of oscillation (T)

Moment of Inertia (IG)

CONCLUSIONS: 1) What are the factors affecting the accuracy of the experiment? 2) Comment on the results and give suggestions to improve accuracy. Write down your observation during the experiment. Discuss the errors and their sources within your experiment. Present all your data including the inaccuracies.