HELP: contact area of Cylinder inside a larger Cylinder?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around calculating the contact area between a smaller cylinder and a larger cylinder when they are oriented either vertically or horizontally. When vertical, the contact area is simply the area of the bases of the smaller cylinder, calculated as 49π m². If the cylinders are horizontal, the contact area is negligible, potentially reducing to a line of contact with zero area. A comparison is made regarding the contact area of a cylinder resting on a flat surface versus one inside a slightly larger cylinder, concluding that in ideal conditions, the contact area remains the same. However, real-world flexibility of materials alters this conclusion, suggesting further exploration into Hertz contact theory for practical applications.
mhl
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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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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. =)
 
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.
 
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:49 \pi m^2. 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 49\pi m^2.
 
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...?
 
Would it be a limit? like lim as deltaX approaches 0 of (Xo * Height)?

(please excuse notation)
 
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.
 
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