University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore

Department of Mechanical Engineering (Batch 2020)

Submitted by: Obaidullah Amjad

Roll No:2020-ME-43
Section:A

1 | Page
 EXPERIMENT#04
To Determine the Mechanical Advantage of Screw Jack

Objectives:
 To study the construction and working of Duplex Screw Jack.
 To find the Mechanical Advantage of Duplex Screw Jack.

Apparatus:
 Duplex Screw
 Hangers
 Weights
 Ropes
 Vernier Caliper

Procedure:
 Position the apparatus so that the load is acted upon square threads.
 Apply the load of 1.5 lbs. Now gradually add weights on increasing increments until it
slides down.
 Note the value at that moment.
 Now increase the load on 0.5 increments and keep on repeating the same procedure.
 Gather at least 3 values of loads and effort for square tee
 Now position the apparatus so that the load is acted upon the vee tee.
 Apply the load of 1 lbs. to the apparatus. Now gradually add weights to increase the effort
until it slides down.
 Note the value of effort at that particular load.
 Now increase the load on 0.5 increments and keep on repeating the same procedure.
 Gather at least 3 values of loads and effort for vee tee.
 Now after all the values are noted, find the experimental value of mechanical advantage
by the formula; Load/Effort.
 Find the mean of three values and find theoretical value of mechanical advantage by:

𝑹(𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜶 − 𝝁 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜶)
𝒓𝒎 (𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜶 + 𝝁 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜶)

 Find the percentage error by the formula:

𝑴𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍−𝑴𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍
x 100
𝑴𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍

2 | Page
Observations:
Pulley Radius R = 10.5 cm
Mean Screw Radius rm = 3 cm
Coefficient of Friction = 0.45
Pitch P = 0.4 cm
Helix Angle α = (tan-1P)/(2πm) = 1.216°
Experimental
No. Load Effort Mechanical Theoretical Mean
Types of
of W P Advantage Mechanical Percentage
Threads
Obs. (lbs.) (lbs.) Mean Advantage Error
MAexp
MAexp
1 1.5 0.35 4.29
Square
2 2 0.37 5.41 5.22 7.44 29.8%
Threads
3 2.5 0.42 5.95
1 1.5 0.35 4.29
Vee
2 2 0.37 5.41 5 7.44 32.8%
Threads
3 2.5 0.47 5.32

3 | Page
 Introduction:
In this experiment, we will learn how to find the mechanical advantage of Duplex Screw
Jack. We will also learn the uses of Screw Jacks, their types as well as their applications.
This experiment will also help us to get knowledge of Threads, types of threads, Nut and
Bolt and terms related to that.

Theory:

Screw Jack:
“A jackscrew, or screw jack, is a type of jack that is operated by turning a leadscrew. It is
commonly used to lift moderately heavy weights, such as vehicles. More commonly, it is
used as an adjustable support for heavy loads, such as the foundations of houses or large
vehicles.”
Screw jack is used in applications where linear motion is required. A jackscrew is
operated by turning a lead screw. It is a device which is used to lift heavy loads like
foundation of a house and large vehicles. It works on the principle of inclined plane. The
load usually acts centrally upon it. A horizontal rotational force is applied to the lever or
handle provided at the top. This force will move the spindle upwards and hence the object
will be lifted up. As the force on the handle is removed the object will not come down
because of Self-locking.

Types of Screw Jack:

There are following types of Screw Jack:
 Simple Screw Jack
 Differential Screw Jack

Simple Screw Jack:

“It consists on one spindle externally threaded.”
In a single start thread, when we give one rotation to the lever, the spindle will move
upward equal to one pitch of the thread. In double start, it will move twice the pitch.
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑷 𝟐𝝅𝒍
𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐 = =
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑾 𝒑
Where
P = Horizontal force applied
W = Load on screw jack
l = distance from lever end to spindle axis
p = pitch

4 | Page
 Figure: Simple Screw Jack [3]

Differential Screw Jack:

“It consists of two spindles ‘A’ and ‘B’, ‘B’ externally threaded and ‘A’ both internally and
externally threaded.”
The internal threads of spindle A meshes with internal threads of spindle B. Spindle A is
screwed to fixed base. When the lever is rotated such that spindle A rises, spindle B also
rotates and it will come down.
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝟐𝝅𝒍
𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐 = =
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝑨 − 𝒑𝑩

5 | Page
Coefficient of Friction:
“A Coefficient of Friction is a value that shows the relationship between
the force of friction between two objects and the normal reaction between the objects
that are involved. It is a value that is sometimes used in physics to find an
object's normal force or frictional force when other methods are unavailable.”
The Coefficient of Friction is given by the formula:
𝑭𝒇
𝝁=
𝑵
Where Ff is the frictional force and N is the Normal Reaction.
The coefficient of static friction is the friction force between two objects when neither of
the objects is moving. The coefficient of kinetic friction is the force between two objects
when one object is moving, or if two objects are moving against one another.
The coefficient of friction is dimensionless, meaning it does not have any units. It is
a scalar, meaning the direction of the force does not affect the physical quantity.

6 | Page
Thread:
“A screw thread, often shortened to thread, is a helical structure used to convert between
rotational and linear movement or force. A screw thread is a ridge wrapped around
a cylinder or cone in the form of a helix, with the former being called a straight thread and
the latter called a tapered thread. A screw thread is the essential feature of the screw as
a simple machine and also as a fastener.”
OR

“A thread is a ridge of uniform section in the form of a helix on the internal or external
surface of a cylinder (IFI description) or it could be described as a sloping plane curled
around a cylinder.”

External threads are on bolts or screws.

Internal threads are on nuts.

7 | Page
 Types of Threads:
There are following types of Threads:
 ISO-metric screw threads
 Acme (trapezoidal) threads
 Bicycle thread
 Buttress thread
 Pipe thread
 Square thread
 Whitworth thread

Applications of Thread:
Screw threads have several applications:
 Fastening:
a. Fasteners such as wood screws, machine screws, nuts, and bolts.
b. Connecting threaded pipes and hoses to each other and to caps and fixtures.
 Gear reduction via worm drives
 Moving objects linearly by converting rotary motion to linear motion, as in the leadscrew of
a jack.
 Measuring by correlating linear motion to rotary motion (and simultaneously amplifying
it), as in a micrometer.
 Both moving objects linearly and simultaneously measuring the movement, combining
the two aforementioned functions, as in a leadscrew of a lathe.
 In all of these applications, the screw thread has two main functions:
 It converts rotary motion into linear motion.
 It prevents linear motion without the corresponding rotation.

8 | Page
 Applications:
The large area of sliding contact between the screw threads means jackscrews have
high friction and low efficiency as power transmission linkages, around 30%–50%. So,
they are not often used for continuous transmission of high power, but more often in
intermittent positioning applications.
In heavy-duty applications, such as screw jacks, a square thread or buttress thread is
used, because it has the lowest friction and wear.

Possible Errors:
As we can see, the error between the theoretical and experimental Mechanical Advantage
varies a lot. There can be a lot of reasons for this.

 Frictions in the pulley and Effort being pulled suddenly can be major sources of error.
 The efficiency of the experiment is not constant due to the different loading condition and
the frictional forces induced between the screw and the threaded base.
 Alignment error between the scale rule and the rope or cord.
 Faulty weight lots.

Solutions:
 Lubricate the screw before starting the experiment.
 Trapping should be done after adding the weight in the effort hanger.
 Overlapping of string should not be there.

9 | Page