Coaster Dynamics: Coaster Lab #4



Coaster Dynamics
Coaster Lab

Lesson #4:   Newton's Second Law of Motion: May the Force be with You

TOPICS:   Acceleration and Force.

1.   Starting with the default track configuration in Coaster Dynamics, set the height of the following elements to these values:

        Spiral Hill = 35 m
        Round Loop = 35 m
        Element 4 Hill = -20 m.

Turn the track friction option OFF (found under the "Coaster Lab" => "Track Parameters" submenu), and the "Design Constraints" and "Design Hints" options OFF (found under the "Options" menu).

2.   Run the roller coaster ride and stop it after the car passes the hill of Track Element 4. Use the Coaster Lab feature to determine the x and y coordinates, and the x component of the G force at Watchpoints 7-11 for Element 4 (Track Section E). From the G force, Gx, calculate the acceleration component, ax, in m/s².


7 8 9 10 11
x
y
Gx
ax

3.   In Chapter 8 of the Physics Primer, the x component of the acceleration of a block on a frictionless inclined plane was found to equal:

(1)         ax = (g)( cos²(ß) - 1 )/( tan(ß) )

where ß is the angle of the inclined plane.

If we approximate the hill of Element 4 as a simple inclined plane, with a constant slope equal to the same net slope as the hill, calculate the x-acceleration using equation (1). How does this result compare to the average value of ax from Part 2 above?





































ADVANCED STUDY (optional... if you don't live in the US)

The United States is the only major country in the world to not yet convert to the Metric System as its primary measurement system. Many people in the US think they understand the British Engineering System -- which they've used all their lives. However, as this exercise will prove, working with the British system can be very confusing. Perhaps that's why the British, themselves, abandoned it!

To begin, for the hill you analyzed in Part 1 above, what is the maximum G force?

Given the roller coaster car's mass of 453.6 kg, and the maximum G force, derive an equation to calculate the corresponding maximum acceleration in m/s². Then, derive an equation to calculate the force in units of lbf from the mass in kg and the acceleration in m/s².


























Table of Contents   Return to Table of Contents


Copyright © 2001, Cyclone Software, Pleasanton, CA, USA. All rights reserved.