Body Forces on Inclined Planes

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

pulley forces on bodies on inclined forces

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

Fp = W h/l

    = W sin α         (1)

where

Fp = pulling force (N, lbf)

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

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

Fp = 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)

Angle of Repose

A body resting on a plane inclined at at an angle α to the horizontal plane is in a state of equiibrium when the gravitational force tending to slide the body down the inclined plane is balanced by an equal and opposite frictional force acting up the inclined plane.

For equilibrium the "angle of response" α can be expressed as:

μ = Fp / Fn = (W sin α) / (W cos α) = tan α  (3)

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