Determine the moment of inertia of a bar and disk assembly

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around determining the moment of inertia for a bar and disk assembly, specifically in the context of a compound pendulum. The original poster has been provided with a numerical answer but is struggling to arrive at that conclusion through their calculations.

Discussion Character

  • Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to use the moment of inertia formulas for both a rod and a disk, incorporating the parallel axis theorem. They express confusion over their calculations resulting in a value that seems too large.
  • Some participants question the definitions and variables used, particularly the notation changes from "l" to "L" and the application of the parallel axis theorem.
  • Others suggest clarifying the location of the mass center and applying the parallel axis theorem in reverse to find the moment about that point.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the original poster's calculations, providing corrections and suggestions for clarification. There is an ongoing exploration of the definitions and methods involved, with no explicit consensus reached yet.

Contextual Notes

The original poster's calculations involve specific parameters such as the length of the rod and the radius of the disk, which are crucial for determining the moment of inertia. There is a mention of potential typos and confusion in variable definitions that may affect the understanding of the problem.

TheBigDig
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Homework Statement
A homogeneous 3kg rod is welded to a homogeneous 2kg disc. Determine it's moment of inertia about the axis L which passes through the object's centre of mass. L is perpendicular to the bar and the disk.
Relevant Equations
## I_x = \int y^2\mathrm{d}A ##
## I_y = \int x^2\mathrm{d}A ##
Q.PNG

I have been given an answer for this but I am struggling to get to that point
$$ANS = 0.430\, kg \cdot m^2$$

So I thought using the moment of inertia of a compound pendulum might work where ##I_{rod} = \frac{ml^2}{12}## and ##I_{disc} = \frac{mR^2}{2}## (##l## is the length of the rod and ##R## is the radius of the disc)
$$ I_P = I_{rod} + M_{rod} \bigg( \frac{S}{2} \bigg)^2 + I_{disc} + M_{disc} (S+R)^2$$
where S is the length of the pendulum

$$ I_P = 0.09 + 1.2 + 0.04 + 2 = 2.61\, kg \cdot m^2$$
Much too large for my purposes.
Not really sure where to go after this. Any help is appreciated.
 
Last edited:
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It looks like you are defining P as the free end of the rod and applying the parallel axis theorem. You forgot to square the L/2, but maybe that's just a typo in writing the thread. And you wrote that your L is the length of "the pendulum', but you mean the length of the rod. It is rather confusing that you switched from the given "l" to "L", when L was already defined as an axis.

Anyway, you are asked for the moment about the mass centre. To get that you need to find where that is and apply the parallel axis theorem in reverse.
 
haruspex said:
It looks like you are defining P as the free end of the rod and applying the parallel axis theorem. You forgot to square the L/2, but maybe that's just a typo in writing the thread. And you wrote that your L is the length of "the pendulum', but you mean the length of the rod. It is rather confusing that you switched from the given "l" to "L", when L was already defined as an axis.

Anyway, you are asked for the moment about the mass centre. To get that you need to find where that is and apply the parallel axis theorem in reverse.
Sorry about that, I changed the post to reflect your corrections. ##l## is for the length of the rod and S is the length of the pendulum now. Thanks for the advice. I'll try giving that a go
 

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