Impulse in a flywheel-to-flywheel situation

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In summary: Thanks. In summary, this means that you can't create a huge torque by coupling a small flywheel to something.
  • #1
swedish_lunacy
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Cognitive superiors,

I am trying to calculate the maximum torque that a flywheel of a given angular momentum can output when "instantaneously" ( I think this is my problem ) connected to another flywheel.

From what I can see it seems that as the time taken to couple the flywheel to the output shaft approaches zero, the torque output approaches infinity.

Does this mean that you can essentially create a huge, huge torque from "instantly" coupling a small flywheel to something ? Seems wrong to me.

Taking a real workd situation. If I was trying to grab a large moving flywheel it would try to rip my arm out of it's socket, if I were to grab a small moving flywheel such that the contact-time produces the same maximum torque then I may be able to stop it ? Or is this more to do with work than torque ?

Cheers
Nick
 
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  • #2
swedish_lunacy said:
Does this mean that you can essentially create a huge, huge torque from "instantly" coupling a small flywheel to something ? Seems wrong to me.

Taking a real workd situation. If I was trying to grab a large moving flywheel it would try to rip my arm out of it's socket, if I were to grab a small moving flywheel such that the contact-time produces the same maximum torque then I may be able to stop it ? Or is this more to do with work than torque ?

The instantaeous torque does indeed go to infinity. As with many other physical procesees, that typically means that some assumptions that you're making are probably invald (in this case rigidity).

In real life, there is a limit on how rigid materials are, and they will deform in high stress enviroments. With the right equipment, I'm sure you could twist a heavy I-beam without any restraints other than the I-beam's intertia.

Similarly, colisions can produce spectacularly large peak forces, but at some point the materials involved will fail in a variety of ways.
 
  • #3
Gotcha, ie. no material is infinitely rigid therefore no torque is ever infinitely large.

Thanks
Nick
 

1. What is impulse in a flywheel-to-flywheel situation?

Impulse is the change in momentum of an object. In a flywheel-to-flywheel situation, it refers to the transfer of momentum between two rotating flywheels.

2. How is impulse calculated in a flywheel-to-flywheel situation?

Impulse is calculated by multiplying the force applied to the flywheel by the time it is applied for. In a flywheel-to-flywheel situation, the force is the torque exerted on the flywheel and the time is the amount of time the torque is applied.

3. What is the relationship between impulse and angular momentum in a flywheel-to-flywheel situation?

Angular momentum is the product of the moment of inertia and angular velocity of a rotating object. In a flywheel-to-flywheel situation, the impulse applied to the flywheel will result in a change in its angular momentum, as it is the product of the torque and time.

4. How does friction affect impulse in a flywheel-to-flywheel situation?

Friction can have a significant impact on impulse in a flywheel-to-flywheel situation. If there is friction between the two flywheels, it will reduce the amount of torque transfer and therefore decrease the impulse between the two flywheels.

5. What are some real-world applications of impulse in a flywheel-to-flywheel situation?

Flywheel-to-flywheel impulse is often used in mechanical systems to transfer angular momentum between rotating parts. This can be seen in various industrial machines and vehicles, such as engines, turbines, and flywheel energy storage systems.

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