What is Wheels: Definition and 207 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. onion3000

    Do mecanum wheels move foward and sideways at the same rate?

    Say you have a robot with mecanum wheels and move all the motors forward one rotation, and the robot moves forwards x cm. If you make the robot go sideways where each of the motors moves one rotation, does the robot move sideways x cm as well? Does it depend on the angle of the rollers on the...
  2. N

    Water wheels and mathematical equation

    Hello everyone, currently working on a physics project. I was very curios about waterwheels and actually have an overshot waterwheel setup. I was testing how the efficiency of a waterwheel would be effected by the drop height of water onto the waterwheel. Do any of you have any idea how I can...
  3. skoande

    Rotational Inertia of a skateboarding wheels?

    I've gathered data of a skateboard going up an include and rolling back with a force plate. - Vertical force - Velocity The vertical force graph looks like this: The first bump is when the skateboard rider hits the incline. I'm doing an investigation and I don't know how this force and...
  4. R

    Railroad wheels and energy generation

    How much energy generation potential would one rolling wheel on a train produce if it was hooked up to a generator if the train is rolling with continual momentum at various speeds. What is the reasonable optimum velocity of the train to maximize energy generation? How would you figure this...
  5. Hamal_Arietis

    Motion of 2 Wheels: Proving Constant Annular Area with Math

    Homework Statement Math is a tool which support for Physics. But In some case Physics idea can use to solve problems easily. Now, there is an example that Physics's result is used to solve hard integral. A man is cycling which has 2 wheels. Smear of 2 wheels paint 2 curves in ground and they...
  6. P

    Verify Sol. of an Dynamic Problem with 2 Wheels

    1. The problem is the following: Starting from stillness @ t = 0, we are looking for the acceleration @T=0 of the 2 wheels (rolling without slip, in particular in point P4 we have a gear wheel contact so we can have that the reaction R2y of the plane could be also in direction y2, in this case...
  7. T

    Calculating the propulsive force acting on a car's wheels

    I'm modelling a car in a simulator for fun. The sim's method of acceleration is to apply a force in Newtons on a selected wheel. I've browsed a few topics and whilst some come close there doesn't seem to be any equations that takes into account geartrains. Also I'm fuzzy on the relationship...
  8. E

    Force on wheels in an accelerating vehicle

    Assume that a motorcycle of mass m has two wheels that are equidistant from its centre i.e the force on each wheel is m*g/2. If the motorcycle accelerates forward, will the two forces on each wheel (measured instantaneously) remain the same? If not, how can one mathematically describe the...
  9. R

    Load rotating device - will it slide?

    Homework Statement I'm designing a device for changing a load position from vertical to horizontal. It has a wheeled frame (2) which allows an operator to transport the load after reorientation. The combined centre of gravity of a rotating platform (1) and the load moves forward due to...
  10. J

    Train Wheels Problem: Solving for Force and Gravity | Homework Statement

    Homework Statement It is basicly on the image attached. Homework Equations where is the force on the front tires, is the force on the rear tires, is the wheelbase, is the distance from the center of mass (CM) to the rear wheels, is the distance from the center of gravity to the front...
  11. almarpa

    Work done by friction by wheels

    Hello all. I have a doubt about the work done by friction force on a wheels , in two diferent situations: a) In Morin's mechanics book, chapter 5 (page 146) he considers the situation in which a car is braking without skidding. He claims that the friction from the ground on the tires causes...
  12. M

    Understanding the Role of Friction in Car Wheels Turning

    When a car moves forward, the wheel turns it exerts a force on the road in the opposite direction of travel, and friction counter acts it. the wheel turns and the car moves forward This implies that friction on the wheel is acting in the direction of the car moving. Though I thought that...
  13. T

    Inclined plane and 2 wheels problem

    Suppose we have an inclined plane and 2 wheels. Both wheels have the same mass M but different radius R. So the only difference is that one is bigger than another. We put both wheels on the top of the inclined plane. They are in the same position, and then we let them go. I know that the wheel...
  14. C

    Real World Physics and my Wheels

    Good evening, First Post here on PhysicsForums! I'm building myself a 1939 Chevy HotRod and have encountered a slight problem with my build. I'm trying to find a wheel that will fit my project, but the problem is that they don't make it! There are numerous forums online with people both for and...
  15. U

    Slipping 4WD Mobile Vehicle Wheels Without Oil or Water

    Hello Everyone, I have a 4WD mobile vehicle, I am trying to get the wheel to slip in the floor. I don't want to use oil or any water product (for my electronic safety and to keep the floor less messy) Any idea how to make the wheel slip on the floor? I was thinking about using snowboard...
  16. J

    Torque: Two pulleys wheels connected by a belt

    Homework Statement Ok, so first I find the tension on the top portion of the belt.. 3.0=T(100/1000) , T-> tension T=30N , though I'm not sure if taking the diameter of Q is correct. Then I find the torques on wheel P, which I multiply the tension with the radius (150/2 mm) which I get 4.5 Nm...
  17. L

    How do I Calculate Normal and Applied Forces on a Branch Wheeled System?

    Dear Physics lover friends, I am in the middle of something and I would like to ask a question on how to solve this branch wheeled problem. The yellow lines are the branches, they have one wheels on them and the wheels are on a circular path. I would like to know how much the normal force A...
  18. M

    Making Steel Wheels Magnetic for Model Train Track

    I have a project I'm working on where I need to have a model train be able to have an electromagnet hold its wheels to the track -- so that it can go "upsides down" and resist derailment. I'm making the wheels and the track -- so all options are on the table. If I used a steel track (say...
  19. J-dizzal

    Friction of a sliding door with one of its wheels "frozen"

    Homework Statement The sliding glass door rolls on the two small lower wheels A and B. Under normal conditions the upper wheels do not touch their horizontal guide. (a) Compute the force P required to slide the door at a steady speed if wheel A becomes "frozen" and does not turn in its bearing...
  20. C

    Force, linear and angular acceleration, car & wheels help

    I'm building an excel dragstrip model. I already have a working model that incorporates force exerted at the rear tires, force of drag, and force of rolling resistance. Now, I want to take into account the linear force that acts on the front tires that is required to accelerate them. There is...
  21. R

    Rotating Wheels and Point Line-up

    Hello all, I'm trying to obtain solution(s) for problems of the following nature: To keep things simple, I begin with two wheels instead, A and B. If A has the frequency f_A, and B f_B, then the location (in terms of degrees) of each marked point is computed as follows: f_A * 360 * t % 360...
  22. I

    Calculating angular velocity when given two wheels speed

    Hello everyone. I'm new here, though I've been using the site for a long time now. Now, I have a question. =) Suppose I have a vehicle with 3 wheels, one frontal passive wheel, and two wheels with different motors in the back. How will I go about calculating the angular velocity of the car, if...
  23. D

    Two cars turning into a corner.

    Okay so my friends and I had a debate on a topic which was regarding the cornering of the car. So the situation is this The two cars are the same, and the corner they turn into is the same. Considering that the two cars follow the same line in taking the turn, which car would come out in a...
  24. A

    Calculate turning angle - 2 wheels car

    i am looking for a function for calculating the turning angle, using the difference between two wheels speed. i have a model car , with 2 engines and 2 wheels, without steering. thanks.
  25. R

    Mystery Generation of Dust Patterns from Grinding Wheels -- I can't explain it

    I'm not sure where to post this, but I wanted to show this just because of the incredible nature of the phenomenon. It's just the dust from a slow running wet grindstone. I assume just vibration, but the more carefully you look the more unbelievable it becomes. As the grindstone ran, some of...
  26. C

    Wheels linked by belts: find the one with the least rate of rotation

    Homework Statement See Diagram Homework Equations See Diagram The Attempt at a Solution I have been looking for hours for the correct formula but do not know what to use or where to start. If you can point me in the direction of the right formula if one is needed, and I would be very...
  27. **Mariam**

    Wheels, car and friction concepts

    Hello, I am a high school student and I am studying about rotational motion this term. However, I am having a bit of trouble understanding some concepts about this idea; specifically about cars and turns. First of all before talking about cars turning corners and the forces there, I don't even...
  28. Ahmad Ramadan

    Static weight transfer of car with two wheels elevated

    I am trying to figure out what the weight transfer, CoG transfer, and actual weight for each wheel is, for the vehicles (specifically the Subaru wagon at 2:00 minutes) undergoing this test: My friend argues the test is flawed because so much of the weight is on the tires contacting the...
  29. S

    How do I calculate moment of inertia in a wheel?

    What I have are two wheels, weight assumed at 50 kg overall for both, joined by an axle. The wheels are 900 mm apart from the centre of one tire to the centre of the other. The diameter of the tire is 690 mm. How do I calculate the moment of inertia in order to find the torque in the centre of...
  30. L

    Why is the friction greater on rear wheels than front wheels in a car?

    My book says option a,b,c is correct. I am able to understand the option a and b but why the friction has larger magnitude on rear wheels than the front wheels. Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution According to me it should be same because weight of the car is equally distributed on...
  31. G

    Push Rod Suspension Geometry Question Camber Change Wheels

    Hey, I've spent ages trying to solve what seems to be a pretty simple geometrical problem and I was wondering if anyone could help me solve it/give me some tips. I am trying to model how the suspension of a car behaves as a result of a displacement of the wheels. What the attachment shows is a...
  32. R

    Short Track Inline Speed Skating - 110 mm Wheels vs. 125 mm

    Hi All, New to the forum. I am a lineman by trade so I have an understanding of physics as it applies to not getting yourself killed when setting telephone poles and line tension. I am also a short track inline roller speed skater and they just announced that they will be allowing 125 mm...
  33. A

    How to calculate torque required to move a heavy object on wheels

    I would like to work out the torque required to move an Airbus A380 along the runway to taxi it back to the gate after touch down. I want to look at using electric motors on the wheels to do this Say the weight of the plane is 400,000kg, the speed required is to be around 10 m/s and the...
  34. jim hardy

    Reasoning behind hub-centric and lug-centric wheels ?

    What's reasoning for hub-centric vs lug-centric wheels ? (I found those terms on a Chevy performance forum... ) I grew up in the fifties when life was simple. Dad's old '46 Plymouth wheels had a big hole in the center to clear the hub and the tapered lug bolts pulled the wheel into...
  35. D

    Rotating rubber wheels made to contact. Find final angular veloctiy

    Homework Statement A solid rubber wheel of radius R and mass M rotates with angular veloctiy \omega_0 about a frictionless pivot. A second rubber wheel of radius r and mass m, also mounted on a frictionless pivot, is brought into contact with it. What is the final angular velocity of the first...
  36. C

    Exploring the Physics of Car Wheels

    Hello I know this sounds stupid but my friend told me about something that made me think. So what he told me was that every point on a car wheel is still for a very small fraction of time Point x is stationary at this point in time but as the wheel moves forward it revolves around x and...
  37. Q

    The Purpose of Torque Angle Wheels: Explained

    Hi Obviously the purpose of using a torque wrench is to tight a bolt to a specific tightens, but what i can't comprehend is the purpose of using a torque angle wheel ? Why are they used, is the torque wrench not enough ?
  38. breadvsrice

    Vertical Cable, Torque, Force applied to Wheels

    I am working on a project at my University. It's extra-curricular and not homework related. At the end we will give a report on what we learned during the development. Our team is working on some ideas for a basic robotic climber, that climbs a cable (similar to a seatbelt). What we decided...
  39. T

    Rotational motion of rear wheels

    A 1500 kg car is driven onto a pair of ramps so that it fronts wheels have been raised 0.3 m above the rear wheels. The wheel base of the car is 2.4m and it center of gravity is located at the midpoint between the front and rear wheels. How much of the car's weight is supported by the rear...
  40. T

    Weight on wheels to keep from spinning wildly

    Hello, I'm working on my first year engineering project. I'm an electrical engineering major but this is a general engineering course. I'd like to know how I could figure out how much weight I would need to put on the wheels of a cart that is going to push a 2kg object (for about 3 feet)...
  41. R

    Why aren't the wheels on my car/bike connected?

    In this problem, the left wheel is connected via a slot and consequently I don't see how the wheel would undergo any motion at all until such time that the rod moves all the way to the edge of the slot because before this time, the joint can just undergo rotational motion to compensate for the...
  42. B

    Wheels Reaction Forces: Solving for Ra and Rb?

    Homework Statement In the diagram below, work out the reaction force in each of the wheels. Note there are two wheels that make up Ra. The Attempt at a Solution 0 = 25,000*2 + 5,000*15 -5 Rb - 8,000*2 0 = 50,000 + 75,000 - 5 Rb - 16,000 0 = 109,000 - 5 Rb 5 Rb = 109,000 Rb...
  43. S

    Would it be easier to pull a train with flat wheels?

    A train applies steel wheels to a steel track. Therefore, without any distortion of the wheel or track, the contact patch would be extremely small. Now, if you slice a chord from the wheel, creating a flat spot contacting the track, the result is a larger contact patch. With a larger...
  44. B

    Tips for Rear Drive Wheel Compatibility with Output Motor | Mini-Go Kart Design

    Hey what's up guys, I am currently designing a mini-go kart type device. I was hoping someone with knowledge of these kinds of things could give me some tips. Materials in question: Rear Drive Wheels Problem: The wheels are intended to rotate with the output shaft of this motor...
  45. C

    How much of torque do you need to start wheels slipping?

    So first of all, hello! I have a question - how much of a torque a car needs to produce that a wheels would start slipping? Let's say i have a car which weights 3200 kg, and has a wheel radius of 0.4394m. So I've been told that to calculate that, i need to do the following procedures(thats very...
  46. H

    Exploring the Mystery of Satellites' Momentum Wheels

    Dears, I would like to know a basic thing, why does the Satellite doesn't rotate with the spinning wheel momentum wheel inside it?
  47. E

    Inertia and bicycle wheels related to wattage and time

    In the bicycle industry, there is a lot of marketing saying that rotational weight is more important than static weight when it comes to accelerations and competition. I understand I=mr^2 but how do you compare differences. Keeping the the hub/spokes constant, how much advantage would you get...
  48. A

    Should I park my car with wheels straightened ?

    Some people park their cars with wheels turned and other do not. I myself like the straight wheels while parking. But technically, are there any problems if I park not straight ?
  49. 2

    Pushing a railway car without spinning the wheels?

    Hi everyone! I'm struggling to get my head around a calculation having not done any physics studies for 10 years - My brain is a little rusty. Please consider the following scenario: Railway trucks (railroad cars) are shunted around a yard using a tractor (Its a farm tractor on rubber tyres)...
  50. D

    Weird? About the direction of rotation of wheels

    Weird!? About the direction of rotation of wheels Suppose we consider a car moving on rough road in forward direction, wheels rotating clockwise. Since wheels rotate clockwisely they will push road backwards so friction acts forwards i.e. in direction of motion of car.The car will move...
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