What is Wheel: Definition and 863 Discussions

In its primitive form, a wheel is a circular block of a hard and durable material at whose center has been bored a hole through which is placed an axle bearing about which the wheel rotates when torque is applied to the wheel about its axis. The wheel and axle assembly can be considered one of the six simple machines. When placed vertically under a load-bearing platform or case, the wheel turning on the horizontal axle makes it possible to transport heavy loads. This arrangement is the main topic of this article, but there are many other applications of a wheel addressed in the corresponding articles: when placed horizontally, the wheel turning on its vertical axle provides the spinning motion used to shape materials (e.g. a potter's wheel); when mounted on a column connected to a rudder or to the steering mechanism of a wheeled vehicle, it can be used to control the direction of a vessel or vehicle (e.g. a ship's wheel or steering wheel); when connected to a crank or engine, a wheel can store, release, or transmit energy (e.g. the flywheel). A wheel and axle with force applied to create torque at one radius can translate this to a different force at a different radius, also with a different linear velocity.

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  1. S

    Torque and power calculation for a crank wheel

    How to calculate torque and power at 'drive wheel' with following inputs and also requirement shown in below picture- a. Gear ratio, 1: 6 b. Attached 10Kg weight for bigger wheel to make as a crank wheel and diameter is 30inch. c. Bigger wheel: Consider 180 degree is freely rotates(due to 10kg...
  2. lc99

    Simple question (help?) -- Forces to spin up a wheel

    Homework Statement A wheel is spun up from rest by application of a force applied to the rim of the wheel. Consider the wheel to be in the plane of the paper, rotating clockwise. This force must point in what direction. 1) at the bottom of the wheel, pointing right 2)at the top, pointing left...
  3. J

    Rubber Band Car- Wheel Placement and Center of Gravity?

    I have an odd question after making a rubber band car. I'm wondering if placement of my pairs of wheels has any affect on how fast or how far my car goes. It seems to be a very impractical design, but I do want to know the science behind it. My question is if I move two wheels all the way to...
  4. NoahCygnus

    A question about rolling motion of a wheel on a frictionless surface

    Let's imagine a situation where we have a wheel of mass ##M## and radius ##R## on a frictionless surface, and we apply a force ##\vec{F}## as shown in the diagram. The force will produce both linear acceleration of centre of mass ##a## and angular acceleration ##\alpha##. The wheel starts to...
  5. Aboramou

    Calculating Clicks: Spoke Card Oscillations and Rotational Motion

    Homework Statement A thin card produces a musical note when it is held lightly against the spokes of a rotating wheel. If the wheel has 32 spokes, how quickly must it rotate, in revolutions per minute, in order to produce the A above middle C (i.e. 440 Hz)? Homework Equations ω=2πƒ; ƒ=1/T...
  6. R

    MHB Polygonal Hamster Wheel with 24901 sides.

    A Polygon hamster wheel has 24901 sides. Each side is made from a 1 mile long wooden plank(perfectly straight) , 4 feet wide. The planks are placed together, end to end, to form a giant hamster wheel. You stand on top of this gigantic hamster wheel (on the outside of the wheel,as if balancing...
  7. G

    How can I draw a free body diagram of a rotating wheel?

    I am currently performing failure analysis on an A356 Aluminum alloy wheel subjected to rotational loading, with a maximum load of 650 kgf and a torque of 4600 Nm. Cracks formed in the wheel after 1.3*10^6 rotations. My job is to perform a stress analysis to determine the regions of maximum...
  8. S

    Angular velocity of a wheel rolling around a fixed axis

    Mentor note: Moved to homework section A conical wheel is rolling (without slipping) around a fixed axis OZ as shown in the figure. The velocity of point C is vc = at. The direction of the velocity of C is shown by a cross i.e. along negative x-axis. We have to find the angular velocity...
  9. J

    Wheel rolling on a horizontal surface

    Homework Statement Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution Since the wheel is rolling , vcm=ωr , acm = αr The wheel is in pure rotation about the point O where it touches the surface . The point P is a distance 4/3 from the bottom point . Angular acceleration of the point = 3 rad/s2...
  10. S

    Conservation of Angular Momentum and a Spinning Bicycle Wheel

    A person standing on a stationary friction-less turntable spins a bicycle wheel with the rotation axis of the wheel in the horizontal direction, thus the initial angular momentum is in the horizontal direction (x - axis), say to the right. Now suddenly the person turns the axis of rotation of...
  11. andrewkirk

    I A perfectly stiff wheel cannot roll on a stiff floor?

    I've been thinking about rolling motion, helped by @kuruman's excellent Insights article on the topic. A crucial insight from that article is that, when a wheel rolls along a flat surface, its axis of rotation is through the instantaneous point of contact with the ground, not through its axle...
  12. H

    Refresher on pulling weight on a wheel

    <Moderator's note: Moved from a technical forum and thus no template.> Hi all, This is a simple system. Assume the weight is completely balanced on the wheel (not going to tilt to any direction). the weight (red block) weighs 200 kg. the wheel (2 of them) each weighs 4 kg. how to calculate...
  13. I

    Fraction of Kinetic Energy from Rotating Wheels in Moving Car

    Homework Statement A 1000-kg car has four 10-kg wheels. When the car is moving, what fraction of its total kinetic energy is due to rotation of the wheels about their axles? Assume that the wheels the same mass and size. Homework Equations Rolling Wheel: K=1/2 Icomω2 + 1/2mv2 Inertia for...
  14. I

    Velocities and Acceleration on a rolling wheel

    I have to be missing something very obvious in this. Homework Statement A car travels 80km/h on a level road in the positive direction of an x axis. Each tire has a diameter of 66 cm. Relative to a person riding in the car, what is the velocity of a) center, b)top, and c) bottom of the tire...
  15. bahtiyar

    Could a steering wheel cause acceleration/deceleration of a car?

    question: The gas pedal and the brakes of a car are used to change the velocity by accelerating the car or decelerating it. Could a steering wheel perform either of these two actions? Explain. P.s: Of course velocity is a vector quantity and if the direction of car change there is an...
  16. P

    Automotive Equation of motion for a driving wheel

    Hi, I have a Driving wheel for which I'm trying to make an observer for. The abserver works very well however , since I don't have my background in mechanics something strange happens. I have to say that I don't know why I think it's strange and that's why I put my question here. Lets assume we...
  17. N

    Net force from a varying speed non-uniform rotating wheel?

    If we have a circle rotating then a force v^2/r is produced but no net directional force exists as it cancels. But if the wheel was not uniform in mass ie not rotating around its centre of mass AND the speed changes over time as a function of the "wheel"'s rotation angle could a net force be...
  18. A

    Circular Motion of bicycle wheel

    Homework Statement A bicycle wheel has a radius of 0.5 m. When it spins, it completes one full turn in 1.6 s. Two identical rocks are stuck on the wheel at a radius of 0.4 m and 0.2 m. What is the ratio of the force on the outer rock to that of the inner rock? Homework Equations F=ma F=mw^2r F=...
  19. B

    Mechanical Energy of a Homogeneous Circular Wheel Rolling at Different Speeds

    <Moderator's note: Moved from a technical forum and therefore no template.> Hello, first I'm sorry for my English. I have a problem with my exam task, this answer wasn't done good according to the professor and I have not idea how I can do it in a different way.Write mechanical energy...
  20. G

    I Wheel physics -- which scooter would be easiest to get to school and back?

    I've got a physics question. I've been looking at scooters, one of them is light weight with a 98mm wheel, and several others are heavier with bigger wheels. I'm having a hard time phrasing my question, but what I'm wanting to know is what benefits are there too the bigger tired scooters? They...
  21. V

    How to count the bicycle wheel revolutions by accelerometer

    Hi, I am setting the accelerometer (BMA250E) on the bicycle wheel hub. I want to count the wheel revolutions(each sine wave) but the Speed over 20km the x-axis(a) data will increase. My question is: How to count the sine wave when x-axis sine wave position move to high or low. Thanks.
  22. C

    Optimum Wheel Radius for a Terrestrial Robot

    Hello everyone! This is my first post here so please excuse me if I don't have the format right yet. Background: I'm a Mechanical Engineering student working on a robotics team and I'm tasked with designing the wheels. The robot is currently using 5 in radius wheels with old motors. The...
  23. fleebell

    Torque created around offset wheel

    This is probably obvious to the folks good with math but it's been 40 years since school for me and I was never a math wizard. I basically need a formula to figure out the picture below. 3000 lbs pushing down on an incline of 18.1 degrees - I need to know how much force would be moving the...
  24. B

    I Using physics to predict the outcome of a roulette wheel

    Hey guys! I have been working on this project during some time. First off, do you all think that this is possible? Of course, as we all may know, the roulette is a chaotic system, very sensitive to initial conditions, although deterministic. This means that small errors in the...
  25. M

    MHB A good fairy draws from the lottery wheel two successive balls

    Hey! :o I am looking at the following and need some hints: A lottery wheel contains five red, blue and yellow balls. For each color the balls are labeled with the numbers $ 1,2,3,4 $ and $ 5 $. A good fairy draws from the lottery wheel two successive balls. A ball which has already been drawn...
  26. F

    MHB Ferris Wheel Problem: Find Donna's Position After 36s

    HELP! Donna is riding a 100 foot diameter Ferris Wheel with a center located 55 feet above the ground. Assume the center of the ferris wheel is on the y-axis, and that the ferris wheel turns 1 revolution every 20 seconds in the clockwise direction. a. Write parametric equations to model...
  27. K

    Angular Velocity of a wheel problem

    The question: A wheel was rotating at 12.5 rad/s when a torque was applied for 15.7 s. The angular velocity increased to 54.0 rad/s. What angle did the wheel turn through in that time? My Solution: theta = Wo*t+1/2*a*t^2 = (12.5 rad/s)(15.7)+(1/2)(41.5)(15.7)^2 therefore, theta =...
  28. B

    Help in understanding a question about a pebble and a wheel and friction....

    Homework Statement A wheel of radius R rolls along the ground with velocity V. A pebble is carefully released on top of the wheel so that it is instaneously at the rest on the wheel. Show that in the case ##V < \sqrt{Rg}## and the coefficient of friction is ##\mu = 1## the pebble starts to...
  29. ILOVEPHYSIC

    How Does the Rotational Inertia Affect Rolling Motion on an Inclined Plane?

    A uniform wheel of mass 14.0 kg is mounted rigidly on a massless axle through its center, as shown in the figure below. The radius of the axle is 0.200 m, and the rotational inertia of the wheel-axle combination about its central axis is 0.600 kg·m2. The wheel is initially at rest at the top of...
  30. L

    How to attach wheel to axel? and how to choose motor

    I need to know how to attach a wheel to an axel, but first of all, i need an axel with a gear pre-built into it. The axel needs to be over 20 inches long (because that is the width of my vehicle) and support bicycle/tricycle wheels. Does anyone know of such wheels and axels? (The wheels have...
  31. GhostLoveScore

    I Precession of a spinning wheel

    This is the experiment I am a bit confused about this part: There is a torque on the wheel from its own weight. That's the τ on the picture. In this perspective, τ points at the bottom of the page. I understand that that torque changes angular momentum of the wheel and the wheel starts...
  32. B

    I Beat the roulette wheel with this?

    I am perplexed because it seems that I have come up with a system for beating the roulette which has a positive mathematical expectancy/hope... but only in the calculations, which I think that I've made wrong. So I want to know in what I have failed doing the calculus. Well basically the method...
  33. EthanVandals

    How Is Angular Acceleration Calculated for a Speeding Ferris Wheel?

    Homework Statement If a Ferris Wheel of radius 25 meters is sped up from a linear speed of 2 meters per second to 3 meters per second, what is its angular acceleration if it takes 5 seconds to do this? How long will it take to complete a complete circle if it continues to accelerate at this...
  34. W

    Calculating gear ratios for a drivetrain

    I'm trying to calculate the required gear sizes for the system shown below: The driven wheel is connected to a 600mm diameter bicycle wheel and the driver wheel connected to a 580 mm long lever arm which has a forward driving force of 40 N. I want to calculate the most efficient sizing of...
  35. OrlandoLewis

    Can I use this solution? Angular motion

    Homework Statement Starting from rest, a wheel has constant α = 3.0 rad/s2. During a certain 4.0 s interval, it turns through 120 rad. How much time did it take to reach that 4.0 s interval? ω0 = 0 α = 3.0 rad/s2 θf = 120 rad Homework Equations Δθ = ω0⋅t + ½αt2 The Attempt at a Solution 120...
  36. A

    Measurement of grinding wheel waviness

    I have done experiements on a grinding machine and have collected the data of grinding wheel profile (using a laser sensor). The raw data consists of info on grinding wheel profile, waviness and roughness (because of abrasive grains). I would like to process the colelcted raw data. I want to...
  37. Grey_Thunderhead

    Angular acceleration of a wheel w/string on inner hub?

    Homework Statement “A bicycle wheel is mounted as in the lab and as shown to the right. This wheel has a mass of 6.55 kg, a radius of R = 38.0 cm, and is in the shape of a ring. A mass M = 1.85 kg is attached to the end of a string which is wrapped around an inner hub which has a radius r =...
  38. Imtiaz Ahmad

    Exploring Rider Motion on a Ferris Wheel: Translatory vs. Rotatory Movement

    how do rider in ferris wheel possesses translatory but not rotatory motion?
  39. RoboNerd

    Torque on wheel in magnetic field

    Hi, everyone. I am facing issues in trying to solve a problem on a wheel in magnetic fields. Since I was not able to access physicsforums, I wrote up everything about my issues and the question in a pdf file that I am attaching accordingly to this post. It is even typed up in the format of...
  40. W

    Force required to move the wheels on a manual wheelchair

    Hi, I'm trying to calculate the force required to move the wheel on a standard wheelchair from stand still and then consistently over a flat surface? I understand that this has to with the amount of weight that is trying to be moved, this being the weight of the user (approx. 68kg) and the...
  41. TheAnt

    Calculate the power produced by a wheel

    Hi, I am trying to calculate the power produced by this Stirling engine: I know there is a way of finding by measuring the pressure and temperature inside the engine but the only data I have is the weight the RPM and the weight of every part of the engine. I understand how to calculate power...
  42. cheapstrike

    Calculation of torque to stop a wheel.

    Homework Statement A wheel of moment of inertia 5×10-3kg-m2 is making 20 rev/s. Find the torque required to stop it in 10s is (A) 2π×10-2Nm (B) 2π×102Nm (C) 4π×10-2Nm (D) 4π×102Nm Answer - (A). Homework Equations ω=2πƒ (ƒ=frequency) Power (P) = Γω. P = W/t. W = ΔK.E. = (1/2)Iω2. The...
  43. A

    Fundamental frequency of a wire wheel spoke

    Homework Statement The spoke of a wire wheel is 9.5 cm long, 3.5 mm in diameter, and under tension of 2100 N. The wire is made of steel of density 7860 kg/m3. When struck with a metal tool at its center, the spoke rings at its fundamental frequency. What is that frequency? Homework Equations...
  44. K

    Max reaction force - ferris wheel

    Homework Statement What is the maximum reaction force exerted by a seat on the passenger of a ferris wheel? There's a diagram showing the seat at 6 o'clock, 12, 3, and 4:30... on a 12 hour clock. Homework Equations N/A The Attempt at a Solution I guess the reaction force is the normal force...
  45. M

    Car Wheel Statics: Calculating Radial Force at 1m

    Homework Statement http://imgur.com/a/IYbP1 A Car sitting on a frame with an attached bar pressing down on the hinged section (Orange). A hinged section coming off the frame with a wheel attached (Blue) How to calculate the radial force on the wheel bearing at 1m away from centre of engine...
  46. M

    I Rocket-Powered Dragsters: Faster than Wheel-Driven?

    Hey guys, We all know that weight plays an important role in determining the speed of a vehicle, such as dragster like Top Fuel. But how about a rocket-powered dragster that uses hydrogen peroxide? Rocket-powered vehicles indeed accelerate faster than any wheel driven vehicle, but do weight...
  47. surya teja saithana

    Torsional spring and maximum velocity of wheel

    Moderator's Note: HOMEWORK POSTED IN WRONG THREAD, SO NO TEMPLATE Thread title changed to make it descriptive of the problem. can i solve this question using energy conservation method as shown.
  48. B

    Force needed turn robot wheel in stationary position

    How much force is required to turn the front wheel of a 4 wheel robot that weighs 200lb. Assume the wheel is 6inches wide, has a diameter of 12 inches (rubber). I would like to know how much force is required to turn a single wheel left or right when it is in stationary (non-moving) position...
  49. T

    Work done by torque: wheel turning about a curb

    Homework Statement Homework Equations work-kinetic energy theorem The Attempt at a Solution
  50. A

    Moment of inertia of a wheel: linear to angular motion

    Homework Statement You are asked to measure the moment of inertia of a large wheel for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the wheel at its center. You measure the diameter of the wheel to be 0.600 m. Then you mount the wheel on frictionless bearings on a horizontal frictionless axle at...
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