De Montfort University

Gyroscope
Experiment
ENGD3038 – Dynamics and Control

P15219444
6th December 2017
 ENGD3038- Dynamics and Control

Gyroscope
Introduction

This report is to verify the gyroscopic couple equation T=Iωrωp, This will be verified using a bifilar
suspension and a TQ TM104 gyroscope apparatus. The moment of inertia experiment from both
experiments should be equal to each other in theory; the report will compare these values to verify
the gyroscopic equation quoted earlier.

Objective

Refer to lab sheet, referenced at the end of the report

Apparatus

Refer to lab sheet

Procedure

Refer to lab sheet

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Gyroscopic apparatus results

Balance Couple Rotor Rotor Precision Inverse Precision Inverse

Mass (g) (Nm) speed speed speed Precision speed Precision
(rev/min) (rad/s) (rev/s) speed (rad/s) speed
(s/rev) (s/rad)
50 0.0687 3000 314.16 18.930 0.053 0.332 3.013
2560 268.08 14.880 0.067 0.422 2.368
2000 209.44 12.150 0.082 0.517 1.934
1470 153.94 8.450 0.118 0.744 1.345
1010 105.77 5.860 0.171 1.072 0.933
250 26.18 1.770 0.565 3.550 0.282
100 0.137 4000 418.88 11.647 0.086 0.539 1.854
3450 361.28 8.845 0.113 0.710 1.408
2950 308.92 8.123 0.123 0.774 1.293
2475 259.18 6.700 0.149 0.938 1.066
1980 207.35 5.758 0.174 1.091 0.916
1470 153.94 4.379 0.228 1.435 0.697
150 0.206 3200 335.10 5.802 0.172 1.083 0.923
2635 275.94 5.018 0.199 1.252 0.799
2140 224.10 3.884 0.257 1.618 0.618
1510 158.13 2.869 0.349 2.190 0.457
1043 109.22 1.964 0.509 3.199 0.313
485 50.79 0.953 1.049 6.592 0.152
200 0.275 3620 379.09 4.933 0.203 1.274 0.785
2970 311.02 3.954 0.253 1.589 0.629
2480 259.70 3.419 0.292 1.838 0.544
2010 210.49 3.473 0.288 1.809 0.553
1490 156.03 1.883 0.531 3.337 0.300
620 64.93 0.893 1.120 7.038 0.142
Table 1: Typical test results for M=50g

Conversion of rev/sec to rad/sec was converted by multiplying rev/sec by 2π. The result for the rotor
speed was given by the electronic tachometer, the value given was in rev/min. This result was taken
manually using naked eye. The value given by tachometer is rev/min this was converted to SI unit,
2𝜋
Rad/sec, by multiplying rev/min by 60
. To get the inverse values we multiply the primary value by -1.

The gyroscopic couple is calculated form the mass and length of the torque arm:
𝑇 = 𝑚×𝑔×𝐿
𝑚 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 (𝑘𝑔)
𝑔 = 9.81 𝑚𝑠 −2
𝐿 = 0.14𝑚

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Calculations for gyroscopic couple:

50g:
𝑇 = 50 × 10−3 × 9.81 × 0.14 = 0.0687 𝑁𝑚
100g:
𝑇 = 100 × 10−3 × 9.81 × 0.14 = 0.137 𝑁𝑚
150g:
𝑇 = 150 × 10−3 × 9.81 × 0.14 = 0.206 𝑁𝑚
200g:
𝑇 = 200 × 10−3 × 9.81 × 0.14 = 0.275 𝑁𝑚

The equation for gyroscopic couple suggests that the graphs of the reciprocal of precession velocity
against rotor velocity should be straight lines.
1 𝐼
= 𝜔
𝜔𝑃 𝑚 × 𝑔 × 𝐿 𝑅
𝑟𝑎𝑑
𝜔𝑃 = 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 ( )
𝑠
𝑟𝑎𝑑
𝜔𝑅 = 𝑅𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦( )
𝑠
𝐼
If true, the gradient must be 𝑚×𝑔×𝐿. This value can then be rearranged to calculate an estimate of 𝐼
(moment of inertia).

Inverse precession against rotor velocity for different masses

3.500

y = 0.0093x - 0.0275
3.000
Reciprocal of precession (s/rad)

2.500
50g
100g
2.000 y = 0.0041x + 0.0409
150g
200g
1.500
Linear (50g)

y = 0.0028x + 0.0143 Linear (100g )

1.000
Linear (150g)
y = 0.002x + 0.0258
Linear (200g)
0.500

0.000
0.00 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00 250.00 300.00 350.00 400.00 450.00
Rotor Velocity (rad/s)

Figure 1: Graph showing the relationship between precision speed and rotor velocity

The intercept is not needed to confirm the gradient.

Figure 1 shows an estimation of the moment of inertia for each of the masses. Ideally the values
𝐼
from the graph should match the 𝑚×𝑔×𝐿
equation.
The gradients were automatically calculated by the graph software, Excel. They can be rearranged to
find the moment of inertia.

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 ENGD3038- Dynamics and Control

𝐼 𝐼 𝐼
Gradient for 50g = 0.0092 = 𝑚×𝑔×𝐿 = 𝑇 = 0.0687

𝐼 = 0.0093 × 0.0687 = 6.389 × 10−4 𝑘𝑔𝑚2

𝐼 𝐼 𝐼
Gradient for 100g = 0.0042= 𝑚×𝑔×𝐿 = 𝑇 = 0.137

𝐼 = 0.0041 × 0.137 = 5.617 × 10−4 𝑘𝑔𝑚2

𝐼 𝐼 𝐼
Gradient for 150g = 0.0028= = =
𝑚×𝑔×𝐿 𝑇 0.206

𝐼 = 0.0028 × 0.206 = 5.768 × 10−4 𝑘𝑔𝑚2

𝐼 𝐼 𝐼
Gradient for 200g = 0.0021= 𝑚×𝑔×𝐿 = 𝑇 = 0.275

𝐼 = 0.002 × 0.275 = 5.500 × 10−4 𝑘𝑔𝑚2

Bifilar suspension
To increase the accuracy of this report a second experiment was used. The Bifilar suspension was
used to obtain a moment of inertia. The bifilar technique is used to determine the moment of inertia
of any type of object about any point on the object.
The torsional oscillations of the rotor on the bifilar suspension are described by the following
differential equation:
𝑀𝑔𝑑2
𝜃̈ + 𝜃=0
4𝐼𝐿
This represents simple harmonic motion. The periodic time is given by:
4𝐼𝐿
𝜏 = 2𝜋√
𝑀𝑔𝑑2
By rearranging this equation, the moment of inertia, 𝐼 is:
𝑀𝑔𝑑2 𝜏 2
𝐼=
16𝜋 2 𝐿
3 times for 50 oscillations were measured and an average was taken:
𝑡1 = 46.64 𝑠
𝑡2 = 47.42 𝑠
𝑡3 = 46.41 𝑠
The periodic time, 𝜏 (time for one oscillation can be calculated):
46.64 + 47.42 + 46.41
𝜏=
150
𝜏 = 0.9365 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
Finally, the moment of inertia:
1.09 × 9.81 × 0.0732 × 0.93652
𝐼=
16𝜋 2 × 0.530
𝐼 = 5.971 × 10−4 𝑘𝑔𝑚2
Length of wires, L 0.530 m
Distance between wires, d 0.073 m
Mass of rotor, M 1.09 kg
Periodic time, 𝜏 0.9365 s
Rotor moment of inertia, 𝐼 5.971 × 10−4 𝑘𝑔𝑚2
Table 2: Results of the experiment using bifilar suspension

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Percentage error

The percentage errors of each of the estimates compared with the bifilar experiment values were
taken:
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝐸𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
5.971 × 10−4 − 6.389 × 10−4
50𝑔: 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100 = 7.00%
5.971 × 10−4
5.971 × 10−4 − 5.617 × 10−4
100𝑔: 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100 = 5.93%
5.971 × 10−4
5.971 × 10−4 − 5.768 × 10−4
150𝑔: 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100 = 3.40%
5.971 × 10−4
5.971 × 10−4 − 5.500 × 10−4
200𝑔: 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100 = 7.89%
5.971 × 10−4
Since there are 4 different errors, the average error was taken:
7.00 + 5.93 + 3.40 + 7.89
= 6.06%
4
Standard deviation

The average moment of inertia taken from the gyroscopic prediction:

6.389 × 10−4 + 5.617 × 10−4 + 5.768 × 10−4 + 5.500 × 10−4
= 5.819 × 10−4
4
Deviations:
(6.389 × 10−4 − 5.819 × 10−4 )2 = (0.57 × 10−4 )2 = 3.249 × 10−9
(5.617 × 10−4 − 5.819 × 10−4 )2 = (−0.202 × 10−4 )2 = 4.0804 × 10−10
(5.768 × 10−4 − 5.819 × 10−4 )2 = (−0.051 × 10−4 )2 = 2.601 × 10−11
(5.500 × 10−4 − 5.819 × 10−4 )2 = (−0.319 × 10−4 )2 = 1.01761 × 10−9

3.249 × 10−9 + 4.0804 × 10−10 + 2.601 × 10−11 + 1.01761 × 10−9

𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝐷𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = √
4

1.45166 × 10−9
=√ = 1.9050 × 10−5
4
Convert to percentage error:
𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝐷𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1.9050 × 10−5
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100 = × 100 = 3.27%
𝐼 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 5.819 × 10−4

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Discussion

Can you justify that T=Iωrωp from the results obtained?

The results from the gyroscope apparatus and the bifilar suspension are very similar to each other.
This can be seen in the percentage error part of this report. All the percentage error differences are
below 10%, which is deemed satisfactory as the manufacturers tolerance is 5% for gyroscope
apparatus and 5% from the bifilar suspension. The values for inertia are reasonably close together,
therefore from the gyroscopic couple equation and the simple harmonic equation we can conclude
that the value for moment of inertia should be very similar; the results above do justify the equation,
T = IωR ωP.

Using the percentage error method, there is an average of 6.06% difference between the gyroscopic
prediction and the prediction from the bifilar suspension experiment.

In effect, the objective of finding the validity of the consistency of the gyroscopic torque equation
has been missed. For this reason, the standard deviation was taken of the moments of inertia values.
This standard deviation value led to a percentage error of 3.27%. This shows that the values are
close together, coherent, and consistent.

For this reason, it is safe to say that the equation 𝑇 = 𝐼𝜔𝑅 𝜔𝑃 and its derivative
1 𝐼
= 𝜔 are justified due to the moment of inertia values similarity in the gyroscopic
𝜔𝑃 𝑚×𝑔×𝐿 𝑅
method using this equation compared to the bifilar suspension experiment. In addition, the
consistency of the values supports this.

Comment on accuracy of the experiment

When carrying out the experiment, the stopwatch was operated by a human, and therefore there
may have been some errors when recording the time taken for the Gyroscope revolve. This could
have possibly been avoided by using a computer to calculate the time taken, rather than a human
carrying out this test. The stopwatch itself may have also been a source of apparatus error, as the
stopwatch may be old and therefore may be inaccurate and there may be a delay from when the
stop button is pressed to when the time on the stopwatch is actually stopped. This would produce a
small error, however when the values from the table are used in calculations, the error is multiplied
during calculations and may result in inaccurate results.

Also, the number of revolutions carried out by the gyroscope is recorded using the naked eye, this
could be a potential error as the number of revolutions may have been miscounted by the individual
carrying out this task. The likeliness of this error increases later in the experiment as when the speed
of the Gyroscope is increased, the revolutions produced by the gyroscope will increase making it
harder for an individual to count as well as operate the stopwatch at the same time. This could be
resolved by using a computerised system to calculate the amount of revolutions the gyroscope did
ensuring there are no miscalculations and improving the accuracy and reliability of the results.

The experiment was only carried out once and there is only one set of results, this could decrease
the reliability and accuracy of the results, as the experiment was not repeated to indicate any
anomalies. A simple resolution to this would be to repeat the experiment twice and gain 3 sets of
results to increase the accuracy of the results.

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 ENGD3038- Dynamics and Control

Also, when carrying out the experiment, the dials used to set the Rotor Speed were extremely
sensitive and when setting the rotor speed, the speed was to be reduced on every occasion by
around 500 rev/min, however due to the dials being so sensitive, the values were almost guessed
around the figure desired as the values were constantly changing and the display never stopped at a
point where an accurate rotor speed could be noted down. This can have a huge effect on the
results and calculations in the report, as the rotor speed was never exact and this will hence effect
the rotor speed calculated earlier in the report in rad/s.

The gyroscope itself was balanced and analysed using the naked eye only, the balancing of the
gyroscope was never accurately justified, only a human individual was used to ensure the gyroscope
was balanced and horizontally straight before carrying out the experiment at each rotor speed.

The weights that were added to the gyroscope each time may have a tolerance level, as although the
weights had a specified mass written on each, the manufacturers may have produced each weight
with a tolerance level (e.g. +_1). This is a very small error, however this can still have an effect on the
number of revolutions carried out by the Gyroscope. The weight themselves may also induce
hysteresis error during the experiment, as they may have undergone wear and tear from previous
use in other experiments which may have caused the weights to be of a lower mass than what they
suggest (examples of this wear and tear could include chips and cracks along the surface of the
weight). This can be resolved by using new weights that have not been used before to eliminate the
effect that the wear and tear has on the experiment itself.

Give examples of applications of gyroscopes in engineering

Racing Cars
In racing cars, car engines act as gyroscopes. Especially in Indy car racing; the cars go around an oval
shaped track in which the they go in one direction. If the engines spines the correct way, the
gyroscope will help the car stay on track.

Motor Bikes
The on a motorbike act as a gyroscope when moving; this helps the motorbike stay up right.

Gyrocompasses
Gyrocompasses aid with navigation as they are commonly used in aircrafts and ships. They are used
for navigation as they don’t tend to change direction and because of low friction they’ll move freely.
Therefore, if a gyroscope is set to a particular direction, it shouldn’t move. Advantages over a
magnetic compass is that interference from other magnetic forces will not affect it and therefore the
true north can be found.

Virtual Reality
In virtual reality, gyroscopes are used to sense the user’s change in direction and translate to signals
to a computer, these signals then correspond to the movements and function along with the
program.

Segway Scooters
A Segway consists of five gyroscopes to balance the frame. Three are mainly used to detect forward,
backward, and left/right motions. Extra gyroscopes are used to back-up the other sensors to limit
the failure. These gyroscopes send the information to computers which then allows other
components to provide extra forces to balance the frame, whether its up-right or moving in a
particular direction.

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 ENGD3038- Dynamics and Control

Electronics
Objects like smartphones and consoles use miniature gyroscopes to detect and measure their
movements, which then correspond to whichever application they're using.

References

Vle.dmu.ac.uk. (2017). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at:
https://vle.dmu.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_379
4640_1&course_id=_460920_1 [Accessed 6 Dec. 2017].

Garden, H. and Equipment, E. (2017). How Segways Work. [online] HowStuffWorks. Available at:
https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/ginger1.html [Accessed 7
Dec. 2017].

Gyroscopes.org.uk. (2017). Gyroscopes - Everything you needed to know. [online] Available at:
http://www.gyroscopes.org.uk/uses.asp [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].

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