Body Forces on Inclined Planes

Determine force required to move a body up on an inclined plane

Neglecting the friction the force required to move a body up an inclined plane can be expressed with the formula

F_p = W h/l

    = W sin α         (1)

where

F_p = pulling force (N, lb_f)

W = m g = weight of body (N, lb_f)

h = elevation (m, ft)

l = length (m, ft)

α = elevation angle (degrees)

m = mass of body (kg, slugs)

g = acceleration of gravity = 9.81 (m/s²) = 32.174 (ft/s²)

Adding friction (1) can be modified to

F_p = W (sin α + μ cos α)         (2)

where

μ = friction coefficient

Online Inclined Plane Force Calculator - SI Units

The calculator below can be used to calculate required pulling force to move a body up an inclined plane.

mass of body - m - (kg)

elevation angle - α - (degrees)

friction coefficient - μ - (zero when neglecting friction)

Online Inclined Plane Force Calculator - Imperial Units

mass of body - m - (slugs)

elevation angle - α - (degrees)

friction coefficient - μ - (zero when neglecting friction)

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