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Case study

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J Mechanical Engineering Science
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of a variable mass pendulum DOI: 10.1177/0954406215590454

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Tomasz Bartkowiak1, Jakub Krzysztof Grabski2 and

Jan Adam Kołodziej2

Abstract
In this paper, the numerical and experimental results for the dynamics of pendulum with variable mass were described.
Mathematical model was developed taking into account the loss of mass, reactive force, air resistance, and friction.
A corresponding test rig was designed and built in order to validate the numerical results. The purpose of the paper is to
show that in case of the variable mass systems the second Newton’s law cannot be directly applied in the traditional
form. The simple experiment was designed to support the thesis that the modification of Newton’s second law is
necessary.

Keywords
Variable mass system, pendulum, Newton’s second law

Date received: 1 December 2014; accepted: 15 May 2015

mass systems. They highlighted that the right formula

Introduction
takes the following form
Dynamics of the variable mass systems has been
receiving a lot of attention for many years. Such sys- dv dmðtÞ
mðtÞ ¼Fþu ð2Þ
tems with time-varying mass occur, for example, dt dt
in celestial mechanics,1 cranes,2 biomechanics,3
sport,4 engineering mechanics,5,6 and fluid–structure where m(t) is mass of the body and u is relative vel-
interaction problems.7,8 The review9 presents a com- ocity of the loss mass with respect to center of mass of
plete bibliography with reference to applied problems the body. The formula in the aforementioned form,
in different areas for variable mass systems. The der- equation (2), is presented in monographs on systems
ivation of equations of motion for systems with vary- with variable mass.11
ing mass is not as straightforward as it would Nonetheless, in the literature publications where
normally be for a system of particles of constant equation (1) is used for describing dynamics of a vari-
mass. The reason is that the Newton’s second law is able mass system still appear.
only truly valid when it is applied to the whole system The falsity of such approaches can be easily proven
which means to the body and the part of the system by demonstrating an example of pendulum with vari-
that is lost or added during the motion, taken able mass. Let us consider a mathematical pendulum
together. with a length l and decreasing mass m(t) which can be
Some authors, e.g. Gurfil and Belyanin,1 expressed by the following equation
in order to describe dynamics of the variable
mass systems used the Newton’s second law in the mðtÞ ¼ m0 expð  tÞ ð3Þ
form
1
Institute of Mechanical Technology, Poznan University of Technology,
d dv dmðtÞ Poland
F ¼ ðmðtÞvÞ ¼ mðtÞ þ v ð1Þ 2
dt dt dt Institute of Applied Mechanics, Poznan University of Technology,
Poznan, Poland
where F denotes sum of the external forces acting on
Corresponding author:
the center of the mass m(t), which moves with the Tomasz Bartkowiak, Institute of Mechanical Technology, Poznan
velocity v. Plastino and Muzzio10 noticed that equa- University of Technology, Poznan, ul. Piotrowo 3,60-965, Poland.
tion (1) is used erroneously in many cases of variable Email: tomasz.bartkowiak@put.poznan.pl

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2 Proc IMechE Part C: J Mechanical Engineering Science 0(0)
where m0 and  are positive constants. Assuming
that the velocity of losing mass is perpendicular
to the direction of motion or negligible, equation
of motion according to the equation (1) takes the
form
 
d d
mðtÞ  g  sinðÞ ¼ mðtÞ  l  ¼ mðtÞ  l 2
dt dt
d dmðtÞ
þl
dt dt
Taking into account equation (3) and assuming small
vibrations of the pendulum the above equation can be
expressed as
€    _ þ !2  ¼ 0
The solution of this equation takes the following form
 
ðtÞ ¼exp t
" 2
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ! rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi !#
 2 2
C1 sin !2  t þC2 cos !2  t
4 4
where C1 and C2 are constants of integration. If the
values of these constants are nonzero then the ampli-
tude of the pendulum, expressed by equation (6)
increases infinitely with the time but there is
no force which can cause such an increase of the amp-
litude. Oscillator (usually nonlinear) with variable
mass was the subject of many papers.2,7,12–15
Unfortunately, some of these authors7,12,13,15,16 took
the inappropriate approach according to equation (1).
The purpose of the paper is to provide the experiment,
the results of which can indicate that such approach
to the mathematical description of variable mass
system can be wrong.
In the paper, we considered motion of the pendu-
lum with variable mass. The mass is represented by
the container that is full of water and that loses water
according to the given formula. The equations of
motion were solved using fourth-order Runge–Kutta
method. The experimental test rig was designed and
built. The motion was captured by precise rotary
sensor. The obtained data were than post-processed
by MATLAB Simulink software. We compared
experimental and numerical results.
Although the formal treatment of variable mass
systems is discussed in number of books on mech-
anics, there have been relatively few undergraduate
level experiments involving a variable mass.
However, the study of these systems is an interesting
challenge for students and would help to improve
their understanding of the second law of dynamics.
One of the purpose of this paper is to present an
experiment which is easy to be repeated.
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d2 
dt
ð4Þ
ð5Þ
ð6Þ
Figure 1. The model with a central hole, where mr – mass of
the rod, dr – diameter of the rod, lr – length of the rod, hv –
height of the vessel, dv – diameter of the vessel, dh – diameter of
the hole, gv – thickness of the vessel wall, mv – mass of the
vessel, f – density of the fluid, hf(t) – height of the fluid column,
H0 – initial height of the fluid column.
Variable mass pendulum
Let us consider a variable mass pendulum consist-
ing of three elements: the rod, the vessel, and
the fluid. In the vessel, there is a hole located either
centrally at the bottom of the vessel or radially at
its wall, through which the fluid can flow out.
All important model parameters are depicted in
Figures 1 and 2.
Analogously to the situation described by equation
(2), for the proposed model that concerns rotational
motion of the variable mass pendulum, the following
state equations can be written
(
IðtÞ d!ðtÞ
dt ¼ MðtÞ þ Mdm ðtÞ ð7Þ
d’ðtÞ
¼ !ðtÞ
dt
where I(t) denotes moment of inertia of the system,
M(t) denotes moment of the external forces of the
system, Mdm(t) is moment of the reactive force
caused by the outflow of the fluid from the vessel
(mass variation). The angle ’(t) and the angular
speed !(t) are the variables, which are calculated
from the equations of motion. The equations of
motion were solved numerically using fourth-order
Runge–Kutta method.
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Bartkowiak et al. 3

Figure 3. Outflow of the fluid from the vessel.

Figure 2. The model with a radial hole, where hh is the After some mathematical operations the term
distance from the bottom to the hole. for height of the fluid column in the vessel can be
found
Outflow of the fluid from the vessel pffiffiffiffiffiffi t2
hf ðtÞ ¼ H0  ð12Þ
In the paper we considered two cases of outflow of the 2
fluid from the vessel:
where  is constant represented by
– First case: the fluid flows out through a hole which
 2
is located at symmetry axis of the vessel (Figure 1), dh pffiffiffiffiffi
– Second case: the fluid flows out through a hole ¼ 2g ð13Þ
D
which is located at the side wall of the vessel
(Figure 2). The above terms have the same forms for the second
case, in which the hole is located on side wall of the
In Figure 3, outflow of the fluid in the first case is vessel.
depicted. Speed of the fluid in the vessel is denoted by The real speed of the outflowing fluid and
V(t) and speed of the fluid outside the vessel is denoted by the area of the fluid flux cross section are lower
v(t). Diameter of the fluid column is represented by D than theoretical values of these quantities.
Owing to the fact that additional coefficients are
D ¼ dv  2gv ð8Þ introduced:

For the fluid in the vessel the following term can be – contraction coefficient
written
Sr
¼ ð14Þ
dhf ðtÞ S
¼ VðtÞ ð9Þ
dt

and for the fluid outside the vessel where Sr is the real area of the flux cross section.
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
vðtÞ ¼ 2ghf ðtÞ ð10Þ – speed coefficient

where g denotes the gravity acceleration. The relation- vr

¼ ð15Þ
ship between velocities V(t) and v(t) is represented by v

 2
dh
VðtÞ ¼ vðtÞ ð11Þ where vr is the real speed of the outflowing fluid.
D

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4 Proc IMechE Part C: J Mechanical Engineering Science 0(0)

The terms  are called the discharge coefficient.17 second is the inertia force. For the vessel the following
Thus, the real value of the reactive force takes the it can be denoted
form
1 d2
Fdmr ¼     Fdm ð16Þ FMv ðtÞ ¼ a cd ðtÞ’_ 2 r2v hv dv þ cI a v hv rv ’€ ð21Þ
2 4

where Fdm is the reactive force. where a is density of the medium, ci is the iner-
tia coefficient, cd(t) is the drag coefficient
whose value depends on Reynolds number. For
Moment of inertia of the system a cylinder it takes the following form
Moment of inertia I(t) of the system consists of three
elements (moment of inertia of the fluid If(t), moment 10
cd ðtÞ ¼ 1 þ ð22Þ
of inertia of the vessel Iv, and moment of inertia of the ReðtÞ0:67
rod Ir)
Reynolds number is here defined as
IðtÞ ¼ If ðtÞ þ Iv þ Ir ð17Þ
a hv rv ’_
ReðtÞ ¼ ð23Þ
The vessel is treated as a hollow cylinder with disc. a

Moment of inertia of the fluid. Moment of inertia of the where a is dynamic viscosity of the medium. Thus,
fluid is time-dependent function. Because of the out- the moment of the force derived from the Morisson
flow, the height of the fluid column and mass of the equation can be written as
fluid are not constant. The fluid column is treated as a
cylinder of mass mf (t), diameter D, and height hf (t). MMv ðtÞ ¼ FMv ðtÞrv ð24Þ
Thus, the moment of inertia with respect to axis
passing through center of mass of the fluid is repre- For very small element of the rod the following term
sented by can be written
 2 
1 3D 1 d2
Icf ðtÞ ¼ mf ðtÞ þ h2f ðtÞ ð18Þ dFMr ðtÞ ¼ a cdr ðx, tÞ’_ 2 x2 dr dx þ cI a r ’€ xdx
12 4 2 4
ð25Þ
Using parallel-axis theorem moment of inertia of the
fluid with respect to axis passing through the joint A is where x denotes distance between the small element of
represented by the rod and the point A, cdr(x,t) is the drag coefficient
for the rod. Reynolds number for the small element
If ðtÞ ¼ Icf ðtÞ þ mf ðtÞ  r2f ðtÞ ð19Þ depends also on the distance x

where rf (t) is the distance between joint A and the a dr x’_

Rer ðx, tÞ ¼ ð26Þ
center of mass of the fluid. a

Therefore, the drag coefficient is represented by the

Moment of the external forces of the system following formula
Moment of the external forces of the system is repre-
sented by 10
cdr ðx, tÞ ¼ 1 þ ð27Þ
Rer ðx, tÞ0:67
MðtÞ ¼ Mgf ðtÞ þ Mgv ðtÞ þ Mgr ðtÞ þ MMv ðtÞ
þ MMr ðtÞ þ Mf ðtÞ ð20Þ After integration of equation (25) the following form
of moment of the force, derived from the Morrison
where Mgf, Mgv, and Mgr are moments of the gravities equation, for the rod was obtained
respectively of the fluid, the vessel, and the rod, MMv
and MMr are moments of forces derived from the Zlr
1 d2r l3r
Morisson equation respectively for the vessel and MMr ðtÞ ¼ a dr ’_ 2 cdr ðx, tÞx2 dx þ cI a ’€
for the rod and Mf is moment of friction force at A 2 12
0
point.
ð28Þ
Moment of the force derived from the Morisson equation. In
the Morisson equation, there are two components The integral existing in above equation was derived
which describe how the medium acts on the body. numerically.
The first component is the drag force and the

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Bartkowiak et al. 5

Figure 5. Measurement system.

Figure 4. Test rig.

Moment of the friction force. It was assumed that the

friction force is represented by

Ff ðtÞ ¼ f NðtÞ ð29Þ Figure 6. Total time of the outflow for the hole located
axially.
where f is the friction factor, N(t) is the sum of
normal forces which are components of the gravities In second case, the outflow force is perpendicular
of elements of the system in direction of symmetry to the symmetry axis of the pendulum and the
axis of the pendulum. moment of the reactive force is represented by
Therefore, the moment of the friction force can be
written as Mdm ðtÞ ¼ Fdm ðtÞ  rf ð32Þ

dj where rf is the distance between center of outflow flux

Mf ðtÞ ¼ Fft ðtÞ ð30Þ
2 and the point A.

where dj denotes diameter of the joint at point A.

Test rig
In order to evaluate the described mathematical
Moment of the reactive force
model, test rig was designed and built. The pendulum
The outflow force is represented by consists of steel rod which is rigidly connected
with the rotating ring. The oscillating mass is a cylin-
d2h d2 drical vessel with the hole which the water can flow
Fdm ðtÞ ¼ Sv2 ¼  vðtÞ2 ¼ ghf ðtÞ h ð31Þ through. The ring rotates together with the mass and
4 2
the rod around the shaft. There is a ball bearing
where S is area of the outflow flux cross section. between the two elements in order to minimize the
In first case (where the hole is located at the bottom friction. The shaft is mounted firmly on the frame
of the vessel), the outflow force is parallel to the sym- (Figure 4).
metry axis of the pendulum, thus, moment of the The angle of rotation was captured by the meas-
reactive force (moment of the force resulted from urement system using high-precision rotary potenti-
the outflow) equals zero. ometer (Figure 5) supplied from stabilized DC

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6 Proc IMechE Part C: J Mechanical Engineering Science 0(0)

Figure 7. Numerical and experimental results of the oscillations without considering the recoil force.

Figure 8. Numerical and experimental results of the oscillations without considering the recoil force and correcting the average
outflow.

Figure 9. Numerical and experimental results of the oscillations without considering the recoil force and correcting the average
outflow.

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Bartkowiak et al. 7

voltage source. The occurred noise was filtered by oscillations were not considered the experiment
implementing multiple order band pass filter. proved the theoretical value of 0.82. Yet there was a
significant difference when the vessel was in motion. It
appeared that the oscillations affect the distribution of
Results
the flow velocity by decreasing the mean flow. The
There were four experiments conducted to validate corrected coefficient value was estimated experimen-
the numerical model: tally and was then used for further computations.
Similar approach was made for the flow through the
– total time of the outflow, hole located radially.
– characteristics of the oscillation, The second experiment was conducted in order to
– momenta of the forces (only numerically), compare the real oscillation time function derived
– classical approach to the Newton’s second law. from the measurements with the theoretical time
course from solving equation (3). Figure 7 shows a
The first experiment was aimed at providing the comparison between numerical and experimental
experimental data input for the further computations. results for the pendulum without recoil force. We
The coefficient mentioned in equation (16) was intro- observed a satisfactory compliance of numerical
duced to average the distribution of flow velocity and results with experimental ones.
area of the flux cross section at the hole. In the litera- Figure 8 shows a comparison for the pendu-
ture, for the axial hole, it can be found that the coef- lum without recoil force for a,b ¼ 1. It can be
ficient takes the value of 0.82. However, the noticed that the oscillations are damped faster
aforementioned value does concern only the station- due to the greater loss of the mass (inertia) every
ary flow. The experimental results for the particular time step.
cases were presented in Figure 6. When vessel The real value of the average flow speed was deter-
mined experimentally for the pendulum with recoil
force. Figure 9 presents the comparison of the numer-
ical and experimental results for the system with recoil
Table 1. Extreme values of the momenta during the force.
oscillations. In the third numerical experiment we observed the
Maximal maximum values of the momenta which were included
Moment of: values (Nm) in the proposed model in order to determine which of
them play the most essential role in the dynamics of
(a) the gravity force of the rod 0.048 the system (see Table 1). The results were obtained
(b) the gravity force of container 0.358 numerically for the hole diameter of 11.2 mm. It can
(c) the gravity force of the water 42.923 be noticed that the gravity force of the water is the key
(d) the air resistance of the rod 0.001 determinant of the course of oscillations. The moment
(d) the air resistance of the container 0.053 of the recoil force is similar to the air resistance of the
(e)the recoil force of the outflow 0.057 entire system.
(f) the friction in bearing 0.072 In the last experiment we would like to confront the
two different formulations of Newton’s second law

Figure 10. Numerical and experimental results of the oscillations using equation (1) instead of equation (2).

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8 Proc IMechE Part C: J Mechanical Engineering Science 0(0)

Figure 11. Numerical results of the oscillations for the increased value of the recoil force.

(equations (1) and (2)) applied for the variable mass Funding
systems. In order to evaluate the data from the experi- This research received no specific grant from any funding
ment, the dynamics of the example system was agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
described by equation (1), which was suggested to be
incorrect in the case of isotropic mass loss. As a result, References
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