

Chapter 14
gyroscopes

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TITLE

GYROSCOPE

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 Objective
define the term gyroscope.
how to understand the concept of gyroscope.
and solve the problems.

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 GROUP MEMBERS
1. MELESE T/AREGAY ETE/5778/03
2. DUKEMO DUGUNA ETE/5641/03
3. YITBAREK MASERASHA ETE/5827/03
4. MESFIN ZELEKE ETE/5665/03
5. NEBIY TEKLE ETE/5971/03
6. FISEHA BEFKADU TCE/6097/99

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

 Gyroscope, any device consisting of a rapidly spinning
wheel set in a framework that permits it to tilt freely in
any direction. i.e. to rotate about any axis.

 The momentum of such a wheel causes it to retain its
attitude when the framework is tilted; from this
characteristic derive a number of valuable applications.

 Gyroscopes are used in such instruments as compasses
and automatic pilots onboard ships and aircraft, in the
steering mechanisms of torpedoes, in anti-roll
equipment on large ships, and in inertial guidance
systems.

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 J.-B.-L. Foucault, a 19th.-century French scientist is
responsible for giving the name gyroscope to a
wheel, or rotor, mounted in gimbal rings, i.e. a set of
rings that permit it to turn freely in any direction (Fig
1)
 During the 1850s he conducted an experiment using
such a rotor and demonstrated that the spinning
wheel maintained its original orientation in space
regardless of the Earth's rotation
 This ability of a gyroscope to maintain its orientation
suggested its use as a direction indicator, but it was
not until 1908 that the first workable gyrocompass
was developed by the German inventor H. Anschutz-
Kaempfe for use in a submersible.


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 In 1911 Elmer A. Sperry marketed a gyroscope
in the United States, and one was produced in
Britain not long after.


 In 1909 Sperry built the first automatic pilot

using the direction-keeping properties of a
gyroscope to keep an aircraft on its course.
 The first automatic pilot for ships was produced
by the Anschutz Company in Kiel, Germany
and in a Danish passenger ship in 1916.
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WHAT IS A GYROSCOPE?
DEFINITION:
 A gyroscope is a device for measuring or

maintaining orientation, based on the

principles of conservation of angular
momentum.

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 A mechanical gyroscope is essentially a
spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to
take any orientation. This orientation changes
much less in response to a given external
torque than it would without the large angular
momentum associated with the gyroscope's
high rate of spin.

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 Gyroscopic effects are also central to things like
yo-yos and Frisbees.

 Gyroscopes can be very perplexing objects

because they move in peculiar ways and even
seem to defy gravity. These special properties
make ­gyroscopes extremely important in
everything from your bicycle to the advanced
navigation system on the space shuttle.

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 The essence of this device is a spinning wheel
on an axle. The device once spinning, tends to
resist changes to its orientation due to the
angular momentum of the wheel.
“Balancing the spinning bicycle wheel”

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Gyroscopes have two basic properties:
Rigidity and Precession
These properties are defined as follows:
1. RIGIDITY: The axis of rotation (spin axis) of
the gyro wheel tends to remain in a fixed
direction in space if no force is applied to it.
2. PRECESSION: The axis of rotation has a
tendency to turn at a right angle to the
direction of an applied force.

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The fundamental equation describing the behavior of the
gyroscope is:

where the vectors τ and L are, respectively, the torque on the

gyroscope and its angular momentum, the scalar I is its
moment of inertia, the vector ω is its angular velocity, and
the vector α is its angular acceleration.
It follows from this that a torque τ applied perpendicular to the
axis of rotation, and therefore perpendicular to L, results in
a rotation about an axis perpendicular to both τ and L. This
motion is called precession. The angular velocity of
precession wP is given by the cross product:
T= wp X l
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 Thus if the gyroscope's spin slows down (for
example, due to friction), its angular
momentum decreases and so the rate of
precession increases. This continues until the
device is unable to rotate fast enough to
support its own weight, when it stops
precessing and falls off its support, mostly
because friction against precession cause
another precession that goes to cause the fall.

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By convention, these three vectors, torque, spin,
and precession, are all oriented with respect to
each other according to the right-hand rule.

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 Let's look at two small sections of the
gyroscope as it is rotating -- the top and the
bottom, like this:

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 When the force is applied to the axle, the
section at the top of the gyroscope will try to
move to the left, and the section at the bottom
of the gyroscope will try to move to the right.
By Newton's first law of motion, the top point
on the gyroscope is acted on by the force
applied to the axle and begins to move toward
the left. It continues trying to move leftward
because of Newton's first law of motion, but
the gyro's spinning rotates it, like this:

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 This effect is the cause of precession. The
different sections of the gyroscope receive
forces at one point but then rotate to new
positions! When the section at the top of the
gyro rotates 90 degrees to the side, it continues
in its desire to move to the left. These forces
rotate the wheel in the precession direction. As
the identified points continue to rotate 90 more
degrees, their original motions are cancelled.
So the gyroscope's axle hangs in the air and
precesses.

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When the propeller rotates in anti-clockwise
direction &:
1. The aeroplane takes a right turn, the gyroscope
will raise the nose and dip the tail.
2. The aeroplane takes a left turn, the gyroscope
will dip the nose and raise the tail.
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STEERING:
Steering is the turning of the complete ship in a curve
towards left or right, while it moves forward.
PITCHING:
Pitching is the movement of the
complete ship up & down in a
vertical plane.
ROLLING:
In rolling, the axis of precision is always parallel to the
axis of spin for all positions.

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.

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Consider the four wheels A, B, C and D of an
automobile locomotive taking a turn towards left
in Fig. The wheels A and C are inner wheels, whereas
B and D are outer wheels. The centre of gravity (C.G.)
of
the vehicle lies vertically above the road surface.

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 Let m = Mass of the vehicle in kg,
 W = Weight of the vehicle in newtons = m.g,
 rW = Radius of the wheels in metres,
 R = Radius of curvature in metres
 (R > rW),
 h = Distance of centre of gravity, vertically
 above the road surface in metres,
 x = Width of track in metres,
 IW = Mass moment of inertia of one of the
 wheels in kg-m2,
 ωW = Angular velocity of the wheels or velocity
 of spin in rad/s,

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 IE = Mass moment of inertia of the rotating
 parts of the engine in kg-m2,
 ωE = Angular velocity of the rotating parts of
 the engine in rad/s,
 G = Gear ratio = ωE /ωW,
 v = Linear velocity of the vehicle in m/s = ωW.rW

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A little consideration will show,
that the weight of the vehicle (W) will be
equally distributed over the four wheels
which will act downwards. The reaction
between each wheel and the road surface
of the same magnitude will act upwards.
Therefore
Road reaction over each wheel
= W/4 = m.g /4 newtons
Let us now consider the effect of
the gyroscopic couple and centrifugal couple on the
vehicle

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Since the vehicle takes a turn towards left due
to the precession and other rotating parts,
therefore a gyroscopic couple will act.

∴ Net gyroscopic couple,

C = CW ± CE = 4 IW.ω .ωP ± IE.G.ω .ωP
W W

= ωW.ωP (4 IW ± G.Ie)

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The positive sign is used when the wheels and
rotating parts of the engine rotate in the same
direction. If the rotating parts of the engine
revolves in opposite direction, then negative
sign is used.
When CE > CW, then C will be –ve. Thus the reaction
will be vertically downwards on the outer wheels
and vertically upwards on the inner wheels

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Since the vehicle moves along a curved path,
therefore centrifugal force will act outwardly at
the centre of gravity of the vehicle. The effect of
this centrifugal force is also to overturn the
vehicle.
We know that centrifugal force,
Fc = (m x v2) / R

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 Total vertical reaction at each of the outer wheel

And total vertical reaction at each of the inner

wheel

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.

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Let
 m = Mass of the vehicle and its
rider in kg,
 W = Weight of the vehicle and its rider in newtons = m.g,
 h = Height of the centre of gravity of the vehicle and rider,
 rW = Radius of the wheels,
 R = Radius of track or curvature,
 IW = Mass moment of inertia of each wheel,
 IE = Mass moment of inertia of the rotating parts of the engine,
 ωW = Angular velocity of the wheels,
 ωE = Angular velocity of the engine,
 G = Gear ratio = ωE / ωW,
 v = Linear velocity of the vehicle = ωW × rW,
 θ = Angle of heel. It is inclination of the vehicle to the
vertical for equilibrium.
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We know that

And

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 ∴ Total

and velocity of precession,

When the wheels move over the curved path, the vehicle is
always inclined at an angle θ with the vertical plane as
shown in Fig. This angle is known as
angle of heel.

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∴ Gyroscopic couple

Notes :
(a) When the engine is rotating in the same direction as that of wheels,
then the positive sign is used in the above expression and if the engine
rotates in opposite direction, then negative sign is used.

(b) The gyroscopic couple will act over the vehicle outwards i.e. in the
anticlockwise direction when seen from the front of the vehicle. The
tendency of this couple is to overturn the vehicle in outward
direction.

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Centrifugal force ,

Centrifugal Couple ,

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 Total overturning couple,

CO = Gyroscopic couple + Centrifugal

couple

We know that balancing couple = m.g.h sin θ

As the stability, the overturning couple must be equal to the

balancing couple, i.e

From this expression, the value of the angle of heel (θ) may be
determined. 42
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 Example
Find the angle of inclination with respect to the
vertical of a two wheeler negotiating a turn.
Given : combined mass of the vehicle with its
rider 250 kg ; moment of inertia of the engine
flywheel 0.3 kg-m2 ; moment of inertia of each
road wheel 1 kg-m2 ; speed of engine flywheel 5
times that of road wheels and in the same
direction ; height of centre of gravity of rider with
vehicle 0.6 m ; two wheeler speed 90 km/h ; wheel
radius 300 mm ; radius of turn 50 m.

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.

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 Gyroscopic effects are also central to things like
yo-yos and Frisbees.

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 A gyrocompass is similar to a gyroscope. It is a
compass that finds true north by using an
(electrically powered) fast-spinning wheel and
friction forces in order to exploit the rotation of the
Earth. Gyrocompasses are widely used on ships.
They have two main advantages over magnetic
compasses:
1. They find true north, i.e., the direction of Earth's
rotational axis, as opposed to magnetic north.
2. They are far less susceptible to external magnetic
fields, e.g. those created by ferrous metal in a
ship's hull.
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 Applications of gyroscopes include navigation
(INS) when magnetic compasses do not work, for
the stabilization of flying vehicles like Radio-
controlled helicopters or UAVs.
 In an INS, sensors on the gimbals axles detect
when the platform rotates. The INS uses those
signals to understand the vehicle's rotations
relative to the platform. If you add to the platform
a set of three sensitive accelerometers, you can tell
exactly where the vehicle is heading and how its
motion is changing in all three directions. With this
information, an airplane's autopilot can keep the
plane on course, and a rocket's guidance system
can insert the rocket into a desired orbit.
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 A typical airplane uses gyroscopes in
everything from its compass to its autopilot.

 The Russian Mir space station used 11

gyroscopes to keep its orientation to the sun,
and the Hubble Space Telescope has a batch of
navigational gyros as well.

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