EXPERIMENT 6

CENTRIFUGAL FORCE - DYNAMIC BALANCING

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this experiment, students should be able to,

1. Apply the concept of centrifugal forces and force balancing for rotating
parts. (LOD 1, PLO 1, C3)
2. Conduct the experiment correctly using appropriate instruments and
methods. (LOD 4, PLO4, P4)
3. Demonstrate work effectively and cooperate in group to complete the
laboratory task. (LOD 7, PLO 9, A3)

CONTENT

6.1 INTRODUCTION

The concept of rotating parts can be viewed everywhere around us. This is
even more so for machines ultilising this concept to do work. Examples of
rotating parts are the table fan that cools students down while he or she
studies, or parts of an internal combustion engines that convert chemical
energy to work to move vehicles.

Centrifugal force for rotating bodies is the force acting outwards from
the centre or axis of rotation. Imaging spinning a ball at the end of a string
with your hands. You will notice and feel a few things. First some force is
require keep the ball spinning. Not doing anything will result in the rotation
dying down and eventually stop spinning. Secondly, you will instinctually
know that releasing the ball will result in the ball flying away from your hands
an not towards your hands. Another example is the feeling of being thrown
outwards when in a car going a little fast around a roundabout.

Now let us imaging spinning 2 different mass, m, balls at the same

time with different lengths (different radiuses, r) with one hand. You will
notice that you will find a little difficulty spinning them nicely since they are of
different mass and lengths. We can say this little difficulty is due to the forces
being unbalanced. This can also happen in machinery, the unbalance forces
become more significant at higher rotation speeds or angular velocity, ω.
Unbalanced forces, cause unwanted effects like vibration, noise, wear and
tear of parts reducing the machines lives other than reducing efficiency of the
system in a whole. In the event of driving in a car that the tyres are due to be
sent for balancing, we will notice that the faster the car moves, (the faster the
tyres rotate) the stronger the vibration that can be felt. Thus, balancing is the
process of designing or modifying machinery, so that the unbalance force in
the machinery is reduced to an acceptable level and if possible, eliminated
altogether.

The theoretical equation for unbalanced force, F = mrω2 works and

that it is unaffected by the direction of rotation. For two objects rotating
together in a system, to be balance, m1r1 = m2r2. In these experiments, the
centrifugal mechanism will be illustrated by the TM1005 Centrifugal Force
equipment by TecQuipment Ltd. You will discover that speed squared and
centrifugal force are proportional, mass and centrifugal force are proportional;
and radius and centrifugal force are proportional.

6.2 EQUIPMENT LIST

6.2.1 THE BASE UNIT AND ROTATING MECHANISM

Figure 6.1 shows the TM1005 Centrifugal Force equipment and the
components. The Centrifugal Force apparatus uses a rotating assembly and
sensors to create and measure controllable centrifugal forces. It shows how
to predict and balance the forces. To automatically record the experiment
results, the apparatus works with Versatile Data Acquisition System (VDAS).
VDAS is a registered trademark of TecQuipment Ltd.

Figure 6.1: TM1005 Centrifugal Force Components [1]

The base unit of the TM1005 contains a motor, the electric circuits and
a digital display. The motor (mounted vertically in the top of the base unit)
turns a toothed belt which turns a large pulley wheel on a hollow shaft.
Mounted on the large pulley wheel is the rotating centrifugal force measuring
mechanism. A clear safety dome covers the rotating mechanism so you can
see it moving in safety. An interlock disconnects power to the motor when
you remove the dome in Figure 6.2. Never try to bypass the safety
interlock.

Figure 6.3 shows the rotating mechanism with dome removed. Figure
6.3 shows the rotating mechanism has a base arm, a ‘counterbalance arm’
and two identical horizontal ‘measurement arms’ - linked together via spacers
for stability. Each measurement arm has low-friction pivots at its ends. At one
end the pivots connect the measurement arms to a vertical link that has
pivots at its base. At the other end the pivots connect the measurement arms
to a load cell fixed to the base arm. The electrical wires from the load cell
travel along the base arm through the large pulley, down the hollow shaft,
connecting through rotary contacts and then to the digital display.

Figure 6.2: Interlock and actuator [1]

Figure 6.3: The rotating mechanism with dome removed [1]

Figure 6.4 shows a simplified side view of the rotating mechanism. For
simplification, only consider one measurement arm. Any force transmits
directly to and is measured by the load cell. Since the arms are symmetrical
about their axis of rotation, there is no net centrifugal force due to their own
mass measured at the load cell when they rotate without additional weights.

Figure 6.4: Simplified side view of the rotating mechanism [1]

Figure 6.5 shows the simplified side view of the rotating mechanism with a
mass. When adding a mass to a slot in the measurement arm and the
mechanism rotates, the centrifugal force due to the rotating mass transmits to
and is measured by the load cell. The load cell measures only this force
since as stated earlier, the arms themselves are completely balanced.

Out of balance forces can be destructive and must be ‘balanced’ to

avoid unnecessary vibration. Adding balancing masses on the measurement
arms removes this imbalance but they would also counteract each other such
that the load cell would see no net force. Therefore, to achieve balance
counterbalancing masses are added to the central ‘counterbalance arm’ -
fixed rigidly to the base arm in Figure 6.6. Masses mounted on this arm
counteract the overall imbalanced forces but do not interact with the
measurement arms, therefore still allowing the load cell to measure the
centrifugal force.

Figure 6 shows the arms from the top. Since there are two
measurement arms, the test masses divide equally between them, to be
counterbalanced by a single mass on the centre counterbalance arm. The
masses fit into the slots in both the measurement and counterbalance arms,
at positions shown on the side of the mechanism. A clear schematic on the
front panel of the equipment allows easy identification of the masses. The
force reading will be either positive or negative, depending on what side of
the axis of rotation the masses are placed. However, the magnitude will be
the same for any given radius and mass.

Figure 6.5: Simplified side view of the rotating mechanism with a mass [1]

Figure 6.6: Plan view of the balance arms [1]

6.2.2 THE BASE UNIT CONTROLS

The base unit has two controls, one adjusts the angular velocity, ω, of the
rotating assembly, both in a clockwise direction and an anticlockwise
direction. The lights next to this control indicate the direction. The second
control is a tare button that allows you to zero the reading from the force
sensor before each experiment. The angular velocity control has three
options:

• Normal turning clockwise and anticlockwise to change the angular

velocity with a fine adjustment.

• Pressing in while turning clockwise and anticlockwise to change the

angular velocity with a coarse adjustment.

• Pressing in for longer than three seconds to reset the angular velocity
to zero.

The angular velocity resets to zero when you switch off the power or
lift the safety dome. It takes a few seconds to reach zero when you press the
button – it ‘ramps’ down. The motor control uses pulse width modulation
(PWM) to control motor speed. This varies the electrical supply (‘on’ time)
pulse to the motor, but at a fixed frequency. Short pulses give lower motor
speed and longer pulses give higher motor speed. The PWM frequency is
within normal hearing range, so the operator may hear the motor buzzing
when it turns. This is normal. For added safety, the motor has an overheat
protection thermostat. This prevents the motor overheating in the unlikely
event of a mechanical restriction (something preventing the motor from
turning). The thermostat disconnects power to the motor until it returns to a
safe temperature.
6.2. VERSATILE DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM (VDAS)

TecQuipment’s VDAS in Figure 6.7 is an optional extra for the Centrifugal

Force apparatus. It is a two-part product (Hardware and Software) that will,
automatically log data from the experiments, automatically calculate the data,
save time, reduce errors, create charts and tables of the data, and able to
export the data for processing in other software.

Figure 6.7: The VDAS hardware and software [1]

6.3 PROCEDURES [1]

6.3.1 EXPERIMENT 1: FIXED MASS AND RADIUS, VARIED SPEED

1. Use the results table (Table 6.1). If you are to use VDAS, the software
will automatically create the results table for you.

2. Lift off the safety dome.

3. Fit the two 50 g matching pair of masses (total 100 g) to the
measurement arms at radius 100 mm from the centre.

4. Fit a 100 g single mass to the counterbalance arm at 100 mm from the
centre (opposite) to balance the two opposite masses.

5. Fit the safety dome.

6. Press the button to zero the force reading.

7. Turn the velocity control (clockwise or anticlockwise) to set the speed

to that shown in the first line of the table.

8. Allow a few seconds for readings to stabilize and record the actual
force.

9. Repeat for the other speeds shown in Table 1.

10. Plot graph Force against Speed Squared [Force (N) vs. Speed 2
(rad.s1)2].

6.3.2 EXPERIMENT 2: FIXED SPEED AND RADIUS, VARIED MASS.

1. Used the results table (Table 6.2). If you are to use VDAS, the
software will automatically create the results table for you.

2. Fit the two 10 g matching pair of masses (total 20 g) to the

measurement arms at radius 0.1 m from the centre.

3. Fit a 20 g single mass to the middle balance arm at 0.1 m from the
centre (opposite) to balance the two opposite masses.

4. Fit the safety dome.

5. Press the button to zero the force reading.

6. Turn the velocity control (clockwise or anticlockwise) to set the speed

to that shown in the first line of the table.

7. Allow a few seconds for readings to stabilize and record the actual
force.
8. Stop the rotation, remove the weights and fit the two 20 g weights
(total 40 g) to the outer balance arm as shown in the second row of
the table, matching them with a single 40 g weight.

9. Repeat steps 4 to 7.

10. Repeat for the other matching weights as shown in Table 2.

11. Plot graph Force against Mass [Force (N) vs. Mass (kg)].

6.3.2 EXPERIMENT 3: FIXED SPEED AND MASS, VARIED RADIUS

1. Used the results table (Table 6.3). If you are to use VDAS, the
software will automatically create the results table for you.

2. Fit the two 50 g matching pair of masses (total 100 g) to the outer
balance arm at radius 0.02 m from the centre.

3. Fit a 100 g single mass to the middle balance arm at 0.02 m from the
centre (opposite) to balance the two opposite masses.

4. Fit the safety dome.

5. Press the button to zero the force reading.

6. Turn the velocity control (clockwise or anticlockwise) to set the speed

to that shown in the table.

7. Allow a few seconds for readings to stabilize and record the actual
force.

8. Stop the rotation and refit the two weights to the outer balance arm at
the next radius as shown in the second row of the table, matching
them with the single weight.

9. Repeat steps 4 to 7.

10. Repeat for the other radius positions as shown in the Table 3.

11. Plot graph Force against Radius [Force (N) vs. Radius (m)].
6.4 ACTIVITIY

In groups determined by the lecturer / instructor, you are to perform the

experiment in the lab and handwrite a lab report that consist of these
following items;

1. Front page
2. Theory
3. Methodology
4. Observation
5. Results
6. Calculations
7. Discussions
8. Conclusion and recommendations
9. Reference

6.5 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCE

[1] TecQuipment Ltd, 2016, TM1005 Centrifugal Force User Guide,

DB/0616, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
 FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology

Subject Name ENGINEERING LABORATORY IV

Title of Experiment CENTRIFUGAL FORCE - DYNAMIC BALANCING

Course Code BNJ 37301 Section :

Semester and session

Lecturer/Instructor Name

Group Members Matric No.

To be filled in by lecturer

No. Item Mark Weightage Score

1 Theory (C2) /5 2
2 Methodology (P2) /5 1

3 Observation (P3) /5 3

4 Results (P2) /5 2

5 Calculation (P4) /5 3
Assessment of
7 Discussion (C3) /5 5
Laboratory
8 Conclusion (C3) /5 3
Report
9 References (C1) /5 1
(Group Report)
Total cognitive (55%)

Total physhomotor (45%)

6.4.1 THEORY

(Write a short theory, or concepts, and insert background related to the

experiment, related science, physics and/or equations, and real-life
applications. Related diagrams and formulas should be stated. All your
sources need to be cited according to the American Psychological
Association (APA) system.)

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6.4.2 METHODOLOGY

(Write in passive voice, the flow of the experiment conducted. The writing of
the methodology can be guided of the procedures given in sub-topic 6.3.
Students may add extra procedures that has been actually done in the lab
(i.e. if not stated discreetly in sub-topic 6.3. Write in paragraphs instead of
numbers).

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6.4.3 OBSERVATIONS

(Write down your observation for the data collected from both results data.
Compare with theory. Write down the relationships between the variables for
all 3 experiments. Also write down your observation of the surroundings,
environment and of the experiment while in operation.)

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6.4.4 RESULTS

(Fill in Table 6.1 Table 6.2 and Table 6.3.)

Reminder: Turn the knob slowly especially as it approaches the required

values. Allow the reading to stabilise first before taking data. This may
take some time. The lab schedule has given you the time to wait for the
results to stabilise. Please patiently wait.

Finally, remember to draw all graphs as required. Since variables are

proportional, use a ruler and try to get the best fit line. Remember to
label the axis and write the title of each graph.

Table 6.1: Data for Experiment 1 [1]

Radius r (m): 0.1 m

Total Mass of matching weights m (kg): 0.1 kg
Motor Velocity, Theoretical Actual Force
ω2 rω2
ω (rad.s-1) Force (N) (N)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Table 6.2: Data for Experiment 2 [1]

Speed ω (rad.s-1): 30
Radius r (m): 0.1
rω2: 90
Total Mass of Mass,
Theoretical Force Actual Force
matching m
(N) (N)
weights (g) (kg)
0
20
40
60
80
100

Table 6.3: Data for Experiment 3 [1]

Speed ω (rad.s-1): 30
ω2: 900
Total Mass of matching weights m (kg): 0.1
Radius, r Theoretical Force Actual Force
rω2
(m) (N) (N)
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
6.4.5 CALCULATIONS

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6.4.6 DISCUSSIONS

(Discuss comprehensively your reasons towards your observation and

results as mentioned. Fill it with 5 W’s, what, why, when, where and who’s.
Give scientific and theoretical relationships to explain your observations. This
can be proven from showing on the table, graphs and calculations)

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6.4.7 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

(Write a summary and relate to the objective, theory, procedure set up,
result and discussion that you have discuss previously.

Write recommendations on how to improve this experiment in terms of better

procedures to get better results)
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6.4.8 REFERENCES

Sources that are referred to in your work, whether published or not, must be
stated. The source of information must be acknowledged in the text as well
as in the reference list. Proper acknowledgement is important because it will
help others locate and verify the original sources. Furthermore, proper
citation can avoid allegations of plagiarism. Acknowledgements in your work
must be linked to the list of reference using the “Author (Date)” system.
References should be cited in all parts of the lab report whenever the
sources are referred in your work.
The Author (Date) System also known as the American Psychological
Association (APA) system. Write a minimum of 5 references. Make sure the
references are cited as required in your report not just limited to the theory
section. At least 50% of references are recent, i.e. within past 5 years of
current study.
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