Problem 08

When the Wheels Meet

the Road

E112
Engineering Design
Friction
• Friction plays a crucial role in the wheel motion. To understand
the factors affecting the wheel motion, we need to understand
the friction in details.

• Friction is a force that resists the motion of an object that is in

contact with another object or material.

• If the objects are not moving relative to each other, the friction
force is called the static friction.

• For moving objects (without wheels), the friction is the kinetic

friction.

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Static and Kinetic Friction
• If the pushing force F is less than the resistive force of the
friction Fr (F < Fr), there is no motion and the objects remain
static with respect to each other. In this case, the friction is
considered the static friction, which means it is not moving.

• If the force F is greater than the friction Fr (F > Fr), then the
object will slide or move. The friction is considered the kinetic
friction, which means the moving friction.

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Standard Friction Equation
Standard Equation
• The standard equation for determining the resistive force of the
friction is written as: Fr = μN, where:
Fr is the resistive force of the friction, μ is the coefficient of the
friction for the two surfaces, and N is the normal or perpendicular
force pushing the two objects together.
• This equation applies to both static and kinetic friction.

Normal Force
• The normal force N can be caused by the gravity, for example,
the weight of a vehicle acting on the wheels.
• Since the weight is the force pushing the objects together, the
friction equation becomes Fr = μw, where w is the weight of the
object.

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Coefficient of Friction
• The coefficient of friction is a number that determines how
much force is required to move an object that is held back by the
friction.
• The coefficient is a measure of how easily one object moves in
relationship to another. When the coefficient of friction is high,
there will be a lot of friction between the objects.

(http://www.physics4kids.com/files/motion_friction.html)

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 Applying Torque to the Wheel
• The Torque, T, is a rotational moment applied to the axle of a wheel,
causing it to rotate. The relationship between the torque and the
force is T = rF or F = T/r, where T is the torque, r is the radius or the
perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the axle,
and F is the force at the edge of the wheel .

• The Force, F, is resisted by the static friction at the point of contact

of the wheel and the ground or other surface. This resistance causes
the wheel to roll forward.

• A larger F will be generated at the point of contact to the ground if r is

reduced, to maintain the same T.

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Standard Friction
Standard Equation

• Given that Fr = μw, where w is the weight of the object, Fr will

be larger if the weight of the vehicle increases.

• Note: a vehicle needs to have sufficient weight to provide the

necessary Fr during the start of the motion.

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Effect of Weight on Motion
Friction and Spinning

• When the static friction Fr at the point of contact is greater than

the force caused by the torque, the wheel will roll forward.
• But if the force from the torque is greater than the static
friction, the wheel will start spinning.

• If the torque generated by the

motor is unable to generate
sufficient friction to initiate
motion, the wheel will never
move.

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Rolling Friction
• The rolling friction comes into the picture when the wheel is
rolling. It is the resistive force that slows down the wheel's
motion on the ground surface.

• When a wheel is rolling without slipping, the surface friction

does no work against the motion of the wheel and the energy
lost is equal to zero.

• However, there is some loss of energy and some deceleration

from friction for any real wheel, and this is sometimes referred to
as the rolling friction.

• It is different from static or kinetic friction. Much of the rolling

friction is caused by the adhesion between the surfaces. The
rolling friction is smaller than the kinetic or static friction.

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 Rolling Friction
• The relationship between the rolling friction and the normal force
is defined using the equation:
Frr = (μrrW) /r, where Frr is the resistive force of the rolling friction
for a wheel, r is the radius, μrr is the coefficient of rolling
friction for the two surfaces, and W = mg is the weight of the
wheel (for cases where a wheel is rolling on the ground surface) .
• Take note that in the calculation
of rolling friction, Frr, we need to
take into consideration the effect
of the radius of the wheel, r.
• For a moving vehicle :
F = Frr + Fair_drag
(at constant speed, Fnet = 0)
Fnet = F - (Frr + Fair_drag)
Note: Fnet = ma, (a lighter vehicle
will move faster with similar Fnet)
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 Standard Friction Equation
(Vehicle Incline Surface)

Moving Uphill

• If F = Frr + Fair_drag + Fincline_drag, then the vehicle is moving at a

constant speed, where F is the force provided by the motor, Frr is
the resistance force due to the rolling friction, Fair_drag is the air
resistance force, and Fincline_drag = w (sin ө), this is the pulling force
by the weight of the vehicle at an angle.
• If F > Frr + Fair_drag + Fincline_drag, then,
the vehicle will accelerate according
to Newton Law: Fnet = ma,
where: Fnet is the net forward force, m
is the mass of the vehicle, and a is the
acceleration.
• A heavier vehicle will need a larger
force to accelerate and to move uphill.

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 Standard Friction Equation
(Rolling Friction)

Moving Uphill
• At low speed, Fair_drag is assumed to be zero, and the formula is
simplified to: F = Frr + Fincline_drag.

• Frr can be calculated using the formula shown below:

Frr = μrrN / r = μrrW cos ө / r, where: μrr is the rolling friction
coefficient and r is the radius.

• Assuming the width of the wheel

remains constant, the rolling friction
force increases when the car gets
heavier.

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Today’s Design Consideration
• The weight of the vehicle, as well as the surface texture of the
wheel, should provide the necessary grip (static friction) when
the vehicle starts to move and when it is moving.
• The weight of the vehicle plays an important role in the
acceleration of the vehicle.
• We should design the vehicle to achieve maximum
acceleration while maintaining the necessary grip between
the wheel and the ground surface.
• The diameter of wheel is another parameter we should look at.
• The force will increase with smaller wheel which is helpful to
the vehicle during uphill motion.
• However, the vehicle speed may be slower due to the smaller
wheel design.

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 Relationship between
Driver Pulley & Idler

• The connection is very much depending on students’ design. A

particular design gives you more torque while the other gives you
higher speed at the wheel as compared to the motor.
• If the drive pulley is larger than the idler, we will get lower
torque and vice versa.
• On the other hand, larger drive pulley will increase the speed at
the wheel.

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Learning Objectives
• Role of friction in starting rolling motion.
• Effect of weight on rolling motion.
• Static and kinetic friction.
• Standard equation of friction.
• Role of friction in wheel motion.
• Rolling friction in wheel motion.
• The design constraints affecting wheel motion in solar car
design.

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