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Torque and Moment of Inertia

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Levious Fanning
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88 views3 pages

Torque and Moment of Inertia

Uploaded by

Levious Fanning
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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TORQUE AND MOMENT OF INERTIA

TORQUE

Torque is the measure of the turning effect of a rigid body. It is operationally defined as
the product of a perpendicular force and the length of its lever arm from the pivot or axis
of rotation. A lever arm is a measure of the distance between the force applied to the
pivot. In equation,
τ = F.la

where:
τ – torque, expressed in N.m
F – force in newton N
la – lever arm in meter

If the force causing the torque makes an angle with the lever arm, then determine the
component of the force perpendicular to the lever arm (Figure 6.)

Torque is a vector quantity. The direction of torque generated by a force is determined by


the force's action relative to the pivot. Torque is negative when the rotation is caused by
a clockwise force. Torque is positive if the force that causes rotation is
counterclockwise.

MOMENT OF INERTIA
A rigid body is a solid made up of a large number of particles. These particles stay
motionless in relation to one another and to the rotating axis. A rigid body maintains its
original shape and size regardless of the forces exerted on it.

Newton's first law of motion, as applied to rotating systems, states that a rigid body
spinning about a fixed axis would continue to rotate at the same rate within the same axis
unless impeded by an external force.

The amount that resists changes in an object's rotating state of motion is known as the
moment of inertia. The equation, which operationally defines the moment of inertia of a
point mass,

I = mr2
where:
I – is the moment of inertia, expressed in kg.m2
m – is mass in kg
r – radius from the axis of a rotation expressed in meter m

For a discrete number of particles, the moment of inertia I is

I = Σmiri2

where:
mi – is the mass of the ith point particle
ri – is the distance of the ith particle from the axis of rotation

I = m1r12 + m2r22 + m3r32 + …………

Rotational inertia is the resistance of a rotating object to changes in its angular velocity.
The angular acceleration, α, is directly proportional to the torque, τ, but inversely
proportional to the rotational inertia, I.
𝜏
α=
𝐼
Transposing the formula, τ = αI, which is analogous to Newton’s second law, F = ma for
linear motion. To find torque, τ, we use the equation,

τ = Fr
where F is the force applied tangentially at distance r from the axis of rotation.
The shape and mass of the rotating item are both considered in rotational inertia. The
figures provide rotational inertia equations for a variety of regularly shaped bodies.
Activity 1. TORQUE
Direction: Solve the problems below in your notebook.
1. Determine the torque produce in a uniform bar by a force parallel force of 5,000
dynes located 30 cm from the point of rotation.
2. Refer to Figure, complete the table by calculating the torque of the uniform bar and
determining the direction caused by the torque.

Activity 2. MOMENT OF INERTIA


Directions: Solve the problems below in your notebook.

1. A 300 kg boy is riding on a merry-go-round located 2.5 meters away from the axis of
rotation. Determine the moment of inertia experienced.

2. A 25-kilogram youngster sits on the rim of a merry-go-round that is spinning around its
symmetry axis. What is the moment of inertia of the system at its axis of symmetry if the
merry-go-round has a mass of 100 kg and a radius of 8 m? Assume that the youngster is
a point particle and that the merry-go-round is modelled as a disc.

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