Inclined scenario

A man of mass 50 kg 50 \ \text{kg} stands on a block of mass 5 kg 5 \ \text{kg} which rests on an inclined plane of inclination 30 {30}^\circ and is connected to a light rope. This rope goes through 3 pulleys and lands back in the hands of the man as shown in the figure. If the coefficient of friction μ \mu between the block and the surface is 10.1 10.1 , then find the maximum force with which the man can pull the rope downwards such that the block does not start sliding down the inclined plane.

Details and assumptions :-

  • Assume that the rope and pulleys are massless.
  • Take g \text{g} (acceleration due to gravity) as 10 m/sec 2 10 {\text{ m/sec}}^2 .
  • Neglect the air resistance.
  • Round your answer (in newtons) off to the nearest integer.


The answer is 409.

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1 solution

Ashish Menon
Jul 24, 2016

Let the mass of the man be M kg \text{M kg} , that of the block be m kg \text{m kg} , the co-efficient of friction be μ \mu , the angle of inclination of the inclined plane be θ \theta , the accelerarion due to gravity he g \text{g} , R \text{R} be the reaction force and the force applied be T \text{T} . Note that the force applied by the man is the same as the tension in the wire.

The y-component of the forces acting on the inclined plane due to the weights of the man and the block is (M+m)g cos θ \text{(M+m)g}\cos\theta .
So, the reaction force and the tension in the string acts opposite to the force above.
So, (M+m)g cos θ = R + T R = (M+m)g cos θ T 1 \begin{aligned} \text{(M+m)g}\cos\theta & = \text{R + T}\\ \\ \text{R} & = \text{(M+m)g}\cos\theta - \text{T} \longrightarrow \boxed{1} \end{aligned}

The frictional force acting is μ R = μ ( (M+m)g cos θ T ) \mu\text{R} = \mu\left(\text{(M+m)g}\cos\theta - \text{T}\right) (From 1 \boxed{1} ).
The net force acting in forward direction = T + (M + m)g sin θ \text{T + (M + m)g}\sin\theta .

Since we need the block is at rest,
T + (M + m)g sin θ ( μ ( (M+m)g cos θ T ) ) = 0 T μ (M+m)g cos θ + μ T = (M+m)g sin θ T ( μ + 1 ) = μ (M+m)g cos θ (M+m)g sin θ T = g(M + m) ( μ cos θ sin θ ) ( μ + 1 ) \begin{aligned} \text{T + (M + m)g}\sin\theta - \left(\mu\left(\text{(M+m)g}\cos\theta - \text{T}\right)\right) & = 0\\ \\ \text{T} - \mu\text{(M+m)g}\cos\theta + \mu\text{T} & = - \text{(M+m)g}\sin\theta\\ \\ \text{T}\left(\mu + 1\right) & = \mu\text{(M+m)g}\cos\theta - \text{(M+m)g}\sin\theta\\ \\ \text{T} & = \color{#20A900}{\boxed{\dfrac{\text{g(M + m)}\left(\mu\cos\theta - \sin\theta\right)}{\left(\mu + 1\right)}}} \end{aligned}

So, plugging in the values M = 50 \text{M} = 50 , m = 5 \text{m} = 5 , μ = 10.1 \mu = 10.1 , θ = 30 ° \theta = {30}^° and g = 10 \text{g} = 10 , we get:-

T = 10 ( 50 + 5 ) ( 10.1 × cos 30 ° sin 30 ° ) ( 10.1 + 1 ) = 408.628 409 \begin{aligned} \text{T} & = \dfrac{10(50 + 5)\left(10.1×\cos{30}^° - \sin{30}^°\right)}{(10.1 + 1)}\\ \\ & = 408.628\\ \\ & \approx \color{#3D99F6}{\boxed{409}} \end{aligned}

If we draw the Free body diagram of the man,the forces which act in the direction perpendicular to the incline are m g s i n 30 = 50 10 0.5 = 250 mgsin30=50*10*0.5=250 and tension of the rope.Hence if the tension exceeds 250 shouldn't the man lose contact with the block?

Arihant Samar - 4 years, 10 months ago

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First of all, I think you mean mg sin θ \text{mg}\sin\theta acts along the inclined. Moreover, we bt also take into account the component with is formed by the man's weight that is Mg sin θ \text{Mg}\sin\theta . Again, why does the man loose contact with the block, he his himself making the tension which is by the force he applies. And I think by your explanation you mean the tension exceeds the component of the block along the incline but some of them is consumed by the friction which can be found by μ R \mu\text{R} .

Ashish Menon - 4 years, 10 months ago

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Thanks.I had made a silly mistake in sin and cos.

Arihant Samar - 4 years, 10 months ago

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@Arihant Samar Np, we learn from mistakes! :)

Ashish Menon - 4 years, 10 months ago

Its a good que... I did a mistake in solving this, tried a lot but failed... But don't you think, in this que you have taken value of coefficient of friction so much large.... Is it possible practically?( i just want to know )

Sargam yadav - 4 years, 10 months ago

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Thanks for your compliments. Ofcourse its impractical :P the thing is my first value was 9.1 but in that case the block moved down irrrspective of the friction and force. Same case with 0.2 and 0.3 so I got irritated and put 10.1 :P

Ashish Menon - 4 years, 10 months ago

Ok.. thanks for telling...

Sargam yadav - 4 years, 10 months ago

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hmm, I think its a great way to generate heat energy. Rolling of great machines on surfaces which have huge frictions generates heat energy appreciably, thoughts?

Ashish Menon - 4 years, 10 months ago

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