Mechanical Engineering Department

MECH 330 (Fluid Mechanics II Lab)

Fall 2014

Lab Assignment No. 1

Introduction to Excel

Instructions:
This lab assignment must be done individually. Group work and plagiarism will
not be accepted.
Submit a hard copy containing the data table and plots corresponding to all
7 questions in this assignment.
A separate cover sheet for the assignment must be included.
Each plot submitted in the report must have the following, or else you will get
only partial credit:
- Proper title and axis labels (with units)
- Marker Size set to 2
- Line Width set to 1

Marks Distribution:

Question # Points
Questions 1 4 10 points each
Question 5 20 points
Question 6 30 points
Question 7 10 points
Total 100 points

Prepared by: Mr. Mohammad Abdul Majid Siddiqi

Lab Assignment No. 1 Introduction to Excel

MECH 330 Page 2 of 3
Slider-Crank Mechanism
One of the most important mechanisms in our lives is the slider-crank mechanism. It is used
in reciprocating engines for automobiles, reciprocating compressors, and piston pumps.
A schematic of the mechanism is shown below.

Use Excel to calculate the force in the connecting rod (F) that causes the piston to accelerate
over its cycle. Forces due to combustion pressures are not included in this analysis. The
following nomenclature is used:
L : the connecting rod length
R : the crank arm length
W : the weight of the piston
R : the distance of the piston from the crankshaft bearings
: the crank angle
: the angle of the connecting rod as measured from the horizontal

The following equations are needed to find all intermediate variables, and eventually the
Force in the connecting rod (F):

Lab Assignment No. 1 Introduction to Excel

MECH 330 Page 3 of 3
where:
Vel is the velocity of the piston
LVel is the angular velocity of the connecting rod (in rad/s)
Acc is the acceleration of the piston
LAcc is the angular acceleration of the connection rod (in rad/s
2
)
Use the Excel spreadsheet template provided (Lab Assignment 1 Template.xlsx) in order to
calculate the values of all variables and the Force in the connecting rod (F), for the Crank
angle () varying from zero degrees to 360 degrees in increments of 5 degrees.
The following columns must appear in your spreadsheet, and all calculations must be made
based on the equations provided:

Crank Angle, Theta Phi r L-Vel Vel L-Acc Acc Force
(degrees) (radians) (radians) (m) (rad/s) (m/s) (rad/s^2) (m/s^2) (N)
For this assignment, use the following values of R, L, and W:
R =5 m, L =10 m,
=45 rad/s, W =15 N.
Use the Excel spreadsheet provided, in order to do the following tasks and analysis:
1. Header: Include a header for the entire data set called Force in Connecting Rod. Center
align the header.
2. Constants: Enter the aforementioned values of R, L, and W at the top of the spreadsheet
(as constants). Make sure to include the units for all the constants.
3. Data Formatting: Format the column headers so that they appear in Bold, and include
appropriate units. All data and header cells must have Borders.
Format all the data so that they all appear in the same format (the Number format in
Excel, with up to 2 decimal places only).
4. Enter data in the first column (Crank angle) such that the Crank angle () varies from zero
to 360 degrees in increments of 5 degrees.
5. Calculate the values of all seven variables in the spreadsheet (Phi, R, L-Vel, Vel,
L-Acc, Acc and Force) using the equations provided on page 2 of this document.
6. Plot the following:
a. Piston Displacement (r) in metres (on Y-axis) versus Crank Angle ()
in degrees (on X-axis)
b. Connecting Rod Force (F) in Newtons (on Y-axis) versus Crank Angle ()
in degrees (on X-axis)
7. From the data, find the following values:
a. Maximum Piston Displacement (r)
b. Minimum Piston Displacement (r)
c. Maximum Connecting Rod Force (F)
d. Minimum Connecting Rod Force (F)
(display these maximum and minimum values below the r and F columns respectively in
the Excel spreadsheet).