Angular velocity of a 3D rigid body with Eulerian Angles

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around expressing the angular velocity of a 3D rigid body using Eulerian angles and a transformation matrix. The context includes theoretical considerations of rigid body dynamics, specifically focusing on the relationship between position vectors and angular velocity in a rotating system.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes a rigid body in pure rotation and seeks to express its angular velocity using Eulerian angles and a transformation matrix.
  • The participant notes the relationship r x ω = dr/dt and attempts to relate this to the transformation of vectors between coordinate systems.
  • Another participant requests clarification on the nature of the rotation, questioning whether it is about a fixed axis or if the body is freely floating in space.
  • The original poster clarifies that the body is undergoing forced rotation about the origin due to external torque, while maintaining a constant angular velocity and no net translational motion.
  • The original poster expresses a desire to find a method to express angular velocity using the position vector and its time derivative, referencing a known method but preferring to explore their own approach.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants have not reached a consensus on the method to express angular velocity, and there are differing interpretations of the conditions of the rigid body's motion.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the nature of the rigid body's rotation and the implications of using Eulerian angles, which may not be fully resolved. The relationship between the transformation matrix and the angular velocity is also not definitively established.

Curl
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Say I have an odd shaped rigid body in pure rotation. I fix an orthogonal x-y-z coordinate system to the body, and coincide the origin of this coordinate system to the origin of my global coordinate system X-Y-Z.

I have 3 Eulerian angles (as functions of time) which I can use to describe the orientation of my rigid body at any instant. I also have a transformation matrix A which I can use to convert any vector r' in the x-y-z system to a vector r in the X-Y-Z system.

I am trying to find out how I can express the angular velocity, ω of my rigid body using this information. I know that r x ω=dr/dt for any position vector r describing the position of a point on the rigid body (correct?).
I also know that r=Ar', so that r=dA/dt*r' (since r' is constant, the point stationary in the x-y-z frame).
I cannot "solve" for ω in the r x ω=dr/dt since there are infinitely many possibilities (it yields a skew-symmetric 3x3 matrix). It seems like if I have the position vector of a point on the body as a function of time, I should be able to express the angular velocity but I'm stuck.

It's probably a very easy question but I'd appreciate any help. Thanks.
 
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Curl said:
Say I have an odd shaped rigid body in pure rotation.
Clarify this, please. Do you mean that the body is undergoing a forced rotation about some fixed axis, or that the body is floating freely in space and has some constant angular momentum in an inertial frame, or neither of these two?
 
Odd shaped rigid body - imagine a rock. Not a 2D/1D object (like a lamina or rod).
It is undergoing forced rotation about the origin (we don't know the axis of rotation) by some external torque, but no net force on the body, and it is not translating. The origin of x-y-z always coincides with the origin of X-Y-Z. For now, let's say that the external torque is such that the body is rotating at a constant angular velocity.

My idea was if I have r(t) and dr(t)/dt I could express the angular velocity. A.T., I've seen that method but I wanted to see if it is possible to do this problem my way.
 

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