HELP: contact area of Cylinder inside a larger Cylinder?

In summary, the conversation is about finding the contact area between two cylinders, one lying inside the other. There is a disagreement about whether the contact area would be the same if the cylinders were lying on a flat surface versus inside each other, and the concept of Hertz contact is mentioned as a factor to consider.
  • #1
mhl
6
0
Laydies and Gents

can anyone help me here? suppose there are well known formulas for this.

That is, contact area of a known size cylinder lying inside a larger know size cylinder...

hope problem is clear

thank you

best regards

martin
 
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  • #2
Contact area? is it involving volume or just area? or sth other than pure value of area?
my guess is that, let CyLarge and CySmall,
so if u re finding volume, calculate the CyLarge volume subtract CySmall volume.
if it's area, CyLarge Area - CySmall Area.

sorry if i misreading ur question. =)
 
  • #3
Hmm. To clearify:

I am tryoing to find the contact area of a given cylinder that is lying inside another cylinder. That mean the outside area of the smallest cylinder touching the inner wall of a known larger cylinder.

Ex: a 1 meter long cylinder with 5" diameter lyes inside a 1 meter long cylinder with 7" diameter. What is the contact area between the two cylinders...?

hope this was better.
 
  • #4
No, it isn't. If the two cylinders have their axes vertical, under gravity, then the "contact" area is just the area of the two bases of the smaller cylinder:[itex]49 \pi m^2[/itex]. If the two cylinders have there axes horizontal, then there would be a very slight contact between the curved areas. Although, I suspect that in ideal cylinders, that would just be a single line of contacet, having 0 area: so we are back to [itex]49\pi m^2[/itex].
 
  • #5
mmm, yes hallsofivy, that was my though as well (the axis are horizontal, they are lying down i guess).

Still, does that mean that a given cylinder, for example OD of 1m, lying on a straight plane has the same contact area to it's underlayer (tha plane) as the same cylinder lying inside a cylinder with ID of 1.001m? (all things ideally and so on and so fourth)...

thoughs...?
 
  • #6
Would it be a limit? like lim as deltaX approaches 0 of (Xo * Height)?

(please excuse notation)
 
  • #7
mhl said:
Still, does that mean that a given cylinder, for example OD of 1m, lying on a straight plane has the same contact area to it's underlayer (tha plane) as the same cylinder lying inside a cylinder with ID of 1.001m?

Yes, if you assume both cylinders are perfectly rigid.

For real cylinders the answer is no, because they are flexible. Google for "Hertz contact" for more about that.
 

What is the formula for finding the contact area of a cylinder inside a larger cylinder?

The formula for finding the contact area of a cylinder inside a larger cylinder is A = πr2, where r is the radius of the smaller cylinder.

How do I measure the radius of the smaller cylinder?

To measure the radius of the smaller cylinder, you can use a ruler or caliper to measure the distance from the center of the cylinder to the edge.

What are the units for the contact area?

The units for the contact area will be squared units, such as square inches or square centimeters, since it is a measurement of area.

Can this formula be used for cylinders of any size?

Yes, this formula can be used for cylinders of any size as long as the smaller cylinder is fully contained within the larger cylinder.

What is the significance of calculating the contact area of a cylinder inside a larger cylinder?

Calculating the contact area can be useful in various applications, such as engineering and construction, where knowing the amount of surface contact between cylinders is important for stability and support.

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