AEROSPACE LABORATORY 3 (2017/2018)

Satellite Technology
EAS 3923

EXPERIMENT 1
Gyroscopic Phenomena

Date of Experiment
21/02/2018

Name
Muhammad Mirza bin Mohd Zaki

Matric Number
182832

Lecturer: Dr. Syaril Azrad bin Md Ali

Instructor: Mr. Ariff Farhan bin Mohd Nor
Technician: Mr. Hermi Othman
INTRODUCTION:

Gyroscopic motion is the tendency of a rotating object to maintain the orientation of its rotation. A
rotating object possesses angular momentum and this momentum must be conserved. The object will
resist any change in its axis of rotation, as a change in orientation will result in a change in angular
momentum. This idea is most obvious when playing with a top. The faster the top spins the more likely
it is to stay upright, and it will wobble while it spins. The Earth also has gyroscopic motion (and has
wobbles leading to Milankovitch cycles.

Gyroscopic motion is used in inertial navigation systems with airplanes and space ships. Gyroscopic
motion can create problems with flywheels. Additionally, gyroscopic motion can cause catastrophic
failure in wind turbines. This comes from the tendency for a spinning object to want to keep spinning
in the same direction.

Figure 1: The major motions involved upon the axis

In this experiment a mechanical gyroscope is used as a representation of a rotating rigid body in space.
Its large rotating disc rotates with low friction about an axis which is fixed at a certain bearing point.
A counterweight is adjusted in such a way that the bearing point coincides with the center of gravity.

If the gyroscope is in equilibrium and the disc is set spinning, the momentum 𝐿 will be constant

𝐿 = 𝐼𝜔𝑅

where 𝐼 is the moment of inertia and 𝜔𝑅 is the rotational angular velocity. The moment of inertia of
the rotating disc of the gyroscope is given by

1
𝐼 = 𝑀𝑅 2
2
where 𝑀 is the mass of disc and 𝑅 is the radius of disc. If extra weight is put on the axis of rotation by
addition of a mass 𝑚 the additional weight causes a torque 𝜏 which changes the angular momentum:

𝑑𝐿
= 𝜏 = 𝑚𝑔𝑟
𝑑𝑡

where 𝑟 is the distance from bearing point of axis of rotation to where the weight of the additional
axis acts and 𝑔 is the gravitational acceleration. The axis of rotation then moves by the following
angle (shown in Figure 2)

𝑑𝐿 𝑚𝑔𝑟
𝑑∅ = = 𝑑𝑡
𝐿 𝐿

It also starts to precess. The angular velocity of the precession motion 𝜔𝑃 can then be derived

𝑑∅ 𝑚𝑔𝑟 𝑚𝑔𝑟
𝜔𝑃 = = =
𝑑𝑡 𝐿 𝐼𝜔𝑅

OBJECTIVES:

1. To demonstrate the phenomena of gyroscopic inertia and precession.

2. To relate the gyroscopic phenomena to satellite attitude dynamics and control applications.

APPARATUS:

1. Precision mechanical gyroscope

2. Electric motor

3. Power supply

4. Digital tachometer

5. Digital stopwatch

6. Short axle

7. Long axle
PROCEDURE:

1. A short axle is attached to the gyroscope.

2. The gyroscope is connected to the electric motor (connected to the power supply) for 15 seconds
to spin the wheel.

3. The gyroscope is released from the motor after 15 seconds.

4. The experiment is repeated by replacing the short axle with the long axle.

5. The stopwatch and digital tachometer are used to measure time and angular velocity.

RESULTS:

Mass of disc = 112.2 g

Radius of disc = 27 mm

Type of Rotation per Time taken to Time taken to 𝜔𝑅 𝜔𝑃

axle minute (RPM) stop, 𝑇𝑃 (s) reach rpm, 𝑇𝑟 (s)
(rad/s) (rad/s)

Short 3000 221 s 8s 0.785 7.644 × 10−4

Long 6000 42 s 20 s 0.314 3.822 × 10−3

1 1
𝐼 = 2 𝑀𝑅 2 = 𝐼 = 2 (0.1122)(0.027)2 = 4.09 × 10−5 𝑘𝑔 𝑚2 /𝑠 (theoretical)

For short axle (example):

1 1
𝑓= = = 0.125 𝑠 −1
𝑇𝑟 8

𝜔𝑅 = 2𝜋𝑓 = 2𝜋(0.125) = 0.785 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠

𝐿 = 𝐼𝜔𝑅 = (4.09 × 10−5 )(0.785) = 3.142 × 10−5 𝑘𝑔 𝑚2 /𝑠

𝐿1 − 𝐿0 3.142 × 10−5 − 0
𝜏= = = 1.571 × 10−6 J
𝑇𝑟 8

𝑀𝑔𝑟
𝑓= × 𝑇𝑃
𝐼

𝑀𝑔𝑟 1.571 × 10−6

𝐼= = = 2.618 × 10−3 𝑘𝑔 𝑚2 /𝑠 (experiemental)
𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑚 0.0006

𝑀𝑔𝑟 1.571 × 10−6

𝜔𝑃 = = = 7.644 × 10−4 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠
𝐼𝜔𝑅 (2.618 × 10−3 )(0.785)
 Frequency against period for short axle
0.14
y = 0.0006x
0.12

0.1
Frequency,f

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Period of precession, Tp

Graph 1 Frequency against period for short axle

Frequency against period for long axle

0.06

0.05 y = 0.0012x

0.04
Frequency,f

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Period of precession,Tp

Graph 2 Frequency against period for long axle

𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 4.09 × 10−5 − 2.618 × 10−3

𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = | |=| | = 63.00 (𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑎𝑥𝑙𝑒)
𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 4.09 × 10−5

𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 4.09 × 10−5 − 1.309 × 10−3

𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = | |=| | = 31.00 (𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑥𝑙𝑒)
𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 4.09 × 10−5
DISCUSSION:

In this experiment, the phenomena of gyroscopic inertia and precession are demonstrated. The
experiment was conducted by recording the time taken for the gyroscope to stop spinning (period of
precession, 𝑇𝑃 ) and the time taken to reach the certain revolution per minute (period of rotation, 𝑇𝑅 ).
Based on the data collected, it can be observed that the period of precession for both short axle and
long axle is longer than their respective period of rotation. Furthermore, the time taken for the short
axle to stop spinning is longer than that of the long axle. This is maybe due to the short axle having
higher stability since it has lower center of gravity than the long axle.

Precession is the phenomenon associated with the action of a gyroscope, consisting of a comparatively
slow rotation of the axis of rotation of a spinning body about a line intersecting the spin axis.
Precession is frequently accompanied by a phenomenon known as nutation, which is evidenced by a
wavelike motion of the end of the spin axis caused by variations in the angle α. Precession happens
towards the end of the gyroscope motion when the circling gets smoother and slower. In the
meantime, nutation occurs when the uneven wobbling motion of the gyroscope is noticeable.

The moment of inertia can be calculated theoretically using the equation in (2) which is found to be
4.09 × 10−5 𝑘𝑔 𝑚2 /𝑠. However, the experimental values of the moment of inertia for both short and
long axle are far off the mark. The significant difference between both values are probably due to
human error or the flaws in the device or equipment as the gyroscope itself has a very loose axle
screw. While rotating the gyroscope in full-speed, the axle screw-end keep loosening out from its
attachment due to vibration, thus dissipating the energy unnecessarily. Hence, the axle screw-end
must be tightened every time the experiment is performed. The angular displacement, 𝜙, on the fast
rotating disc is also hard to capture as the laser did not precisely target a reflective point on the fast
spinning disc. This practice is actually should be made by placing digital the tachometer on a retort
stand instead of holding it with hands.

CONCLUSION:

The objectives are achieved successfully as the phenomena of gyroscopic inertia and precession are
demonstrated experimentally. The gyroscopic phenomena can also be related to satellite attitude
dynamics and control applications.

REFERENCES:

1) Gyroscopic motion. Retrieved Feb 27, 2018 from

http://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Gyroscopic_motion

2) Precession. Retrieved Feb 27, 2018 from https://www.britannica.com/science/precession

3) Nutation. Retrieved Feb 27, 2018 from

http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~hemh1/gyroscopes/nutation.html

4) Moon, F.C. (2008). Applied Dynamics, 2nd Edition. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. Gyroscopic Dynamics,
page 237-242.

5) Understanding What is Gyroscopic Effect With Appropriate Examples. Retrieved Feb 27, 2018 from
https://sciencestruck.com/what-is-gyroscopic-effect