Pulleys

A pulley consists of a grooved wheel

supported in a frame and a rope or cable
threaded around the wheel.
The wheel of the pulley rotates as the rope
or cable moves over it.
Pulleys are used for lifting by attaching one
end of the rope to the object, threading the
rope through the pulley (or system of
pulleys), and pulling on the other end of the
rope.
Fixed pulley (e.g. flagpole):
„ fastened to a beam
„ does not move
„ changes the direction of the
force applied to the end of the
rope
Movable pulley:
„ attached to the load to be
lifted
„ moves with the load as
the rope is pulled
 Pulleys, in various combinations are used to lift heavy
objects by applying relatively small forces
Mechanical Advantage (MA) of a Pulley System
Since many strands of
rope hold up the load R in
a pulley system, each
strand must support a
share of the total weight
equal to the load divided
by the number of strands
The effort E, since it is
applied to one of these
strands, must also exert a
force equal to the load
divided by the number of
strands:
Load
In the picture: R = load Effort =
E = effort # of strands
Mechanical Advantage (MA) of a Pulley System
The mechanical
advantage of a set of
pulleys equals the # of
strands holding up the
weight

Load
MA = # of strands =
Effort

Also,

Dist. effort moves Load

MA = =
Dist. load moves Effort
In the picture: R = load
E = effort
 Mechanical Advantage (MA) of a Pulley System
This
Thepulley consistsadvantage
mechanical of 3 fixed of
and 2 movable
a set of pulleyspulleys.
equalsIt is
the #
used to raise holding
of strands a 5-lb box
uptothea
height
weightof 20 ft.

In this case:

Also,
•MA =5 lb
•the effort E=5 lb / 5 = 1 lb
•the effort moves a distance
•5 x 20 ft = 100 ft

In the picture: R = load

E = effort
 Theoretical and Actual
Mechanical Advantage
TMA is the ideal MA, i.e. when the pulleys are considered
massless and frictionless. Then

Load
TMA =
Ideal Effort
AMA is the real MA, i.e. when we take into consideration
the real effort which depends on friction and weight of the
moving pulleys.
Load AMA
AMA = efficiency = <1
Real Effort TMA
Exercise 8: The TMA of the pulley configuration
shown in the figure below is

a. 16 b. 8 c. 7 d. 11 e. 10

There are two independent pulley

arrangements: The TMA of the
first (left pulley) is 8 and the TMA
of the second (right pulley) is 2.
Thus, the total TMA is 8×2 = 16.

Effort = 950 N
But we also know that

load (1500 kg ⋅ 9.81m / s )

MA = =
effort 950 N
Load = 1500 kg
MA ≈ 16
Example I:

Assume that the pulley

has no mass and is
frictionless.
T
The two masses joined
by the string create a m1g
tension in the string.
This tension supports m2g
the masses and must be
constant throughout the
string.
the load is the object Example I:
lifted by the pulley
system

the load distance is

the distance the load
travels

the effort is the force T

exerted on the rope in
order to move the load m1g
through the load
distance m2g

the effort distance is

the space over which
the effort is applied.
 Example I:
Assume m1 = 10kg and m2 = 25kg. Find
the acceleration of the masses.
The masses must be accelerating at
the same rate but in opposite
directions. Since m2 is heavier, assume T
a
that it is moving toward the ground.
Newton’s Second Law applied each m1g
block: a
T - m1g = m1a m2g

T - m2g = -m2a
Setting both equations equal to T Note that the negative in equations
and then substituting yield indicates that the forces are acting in
opposite directions and therefore
(m2 - m1 )g
a= = 4.2 m / s2 accounts for the negative normally
associated with the acceleration due to
m2 + m1 gravity.
Example I (continued):
Find the tension T in the string:

Substituting into either of

the equations

T - m1g = m1a
T
T - m2g = -m2a
m1g

yields T = 140 N (this value is m2g

a magnitude - direction
depends on which mass is
being considered).
Multiple pulleys can change both the
direction of the applied force and the amount
of force, so that less force is needed to lift an
object. (Construction cranes use multiple
pulley systems to reduce the amount of force
needed to lift heavy equipment.)

Pulleys reduce the effort to lift an object by

increasing the distance over which the effort
is applied.
Work = Force × Distance
A pulley makes work easier by
increasing the distance over which
effort is applied.

Pulleys increase the amount of rope

needed to lift an object, so heavy loads
can be lifted with even less effort.
 Consider the system shown
Example II: porting a mass of 30 kg.
1. How much force is required
to lift the mass?

Consider the force diagram.

The tension in the cord T is T T
the force required to lift the
mass:
mg
(1) 2 x T = mg
= (30 kg) x (9.8m/s2)
30 kg
(2) T = 147 N
Example II
(continued):
Consider the system shown
supporting a mass of 30 kg.
2. If a pulley is added as shown,
how much force is required to lift
the mass?
Adding one pulley
doubles the number of 30 kg
cords that share the
load, so the force now
required is half of what 4T
was needed before, or
73.5 N.
mg
 Problem # 70
T4
A mass M is held in place by a force F and a
pulley 1
(frictionless) pulley system as shown.
Determine the tensions T1, T2 , T3 , T4 in each
section of the cord and the magnitude of F. T1 T2 T3

Since the pulleys are T1=T3 pulley 2

frictionless and massless, we
T2=T3 M
have that: F

Equilibrium of pulley 2
requires T2+T3=Mg T1=Mg/2
2T1=Mg
T2=Mg/2
Equilibrium of pulley 1 T3=Mg/2
requires T4=T1+T2+T3 T4=3Mg/2
F=T1 = Mg/2
Problem #69
Consider a system of masses 1.2 kg and 1.8 kg as shown. The
pulleys are massless and frictionless. The acceleration of the block
with mass 1.2 kg is:
(a) 0.89 m/s2 up (b) 0.89 m/s2 down (c) 1.78 m/s2 down
(d) 1.78 m/s2 up (e) none of these

The 1.2 kg mass is going down;

−1.2g +T =−1.2 a1
2 T −1.8 g = 1.8 a2
1.8 kg
a1=2 a2
Solving for the acceleration of the 1.2
1.2 kg kg mass, a1

Is the system in a1 = 1.78 m/s2 down

equiibrium?
Pulleys are massless and
frictionless; the horizontal Let m1= 2 kg and m2= 7 kg.
surface is frictionless. Find the accelerations a1
and a2 of each block, and
T the tension T.
m1
m2g - 2T = m2a2 (1)
T
T = m1a1 (2) Inserting (2) and (3)
into (1) we have
m2
a1 = 2a2 (3) m2g - 2 m1 (2 a2) = m2a2

a2 =m2g /(4m1+ m2)= 7g/15

a1 =2m2g /(4m1+ m2)= 14g/15
 S3/6: With what force magnitude T must
the person pull on the cable in order to
cause the scale A to read 2000 N?
T The weights of pulleys and cables are of
negligible mass.

5T
FN = 2000 N
FN
5T + 2000 − 500 g = 0
T = 580 N