Determination of Gyroscopic Drifts Associated With Angular Support Motions

Abstract

A previously proposed systematic approach for the analysis of gyroscopic drifts associated with angular support motions is further developed. For a wide range of support motions, the problem of determination of drifts is reduced to the evaluation of four integrals. The validity of the theory is tested by applying it to a gyroscope experiencing a constant rate about a fixed line and comparing the resulting predictions with those of digital computer solutions of the exact differential equations of motion, and formulas relating steady drifts to system parameters are presented.