How to calculate compression of a spring

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion focuses on calculating the compression of a spring subjected to centrifugal force while spinning, without any attached mass. Participants explore various approaches to model the forces involved and the implications of the spring's properties on its compression.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested, Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that centrifugal force applies to the spring while it spins, emphasizing the importance of the spring's weight and the non-uniform nature of the centrifugal force due to changing radius.
  • Another participant proposes modeling the spring as having a small mass attached to it if the change in radius is small compared to the overall radius, allowing the use of Hooke's law to find the compression.
  • A different approach is introduced, considering the mass of the spring as uniformly distributed, leading to the use of the moment of inertia of a rod to derive the associated centripetal force and subsequently the extension of the spring.
  • A participant questions the moment of inertia for a hollow rod, seeking clarification on how it differs from that of a solid rod.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple competing views on how to approach the problem, and the discussion remains unresolved regarding the best method to calculate the spring's compression.

Contextual Notes

Assumptions regarding the distribution of mass, the uniformity of the centrifugal force, and the definitions of inertia are not fully resolved, which may affect the calculations proposed.

Gazi
Messages
17
Reaction score
1
centrifugal force apply force to spring while it spinning, how to calculate it's compression. there is no any attached mass on spring. just centrifugal force depends on RPM. weight of spring is important, centrifugal force is changing by radius, so it's not uniform.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
If the change in radius is small compared to the overall radius, then I'd assume a constant r and model the spring as having a small mass attached to the end of it. Then you can find the force on that mass and use hooke's law to find how far the spring is compressed.
 
Alternatively, if you considered the mass of the spring was uniformly distributed from the origin to the radius, then you could use the moment of inertia of a rod about its end i.e ##I=\frac{1}{3}mr^2## with associated angular momentum ##L=I\omega##. In doing this you're basically attaching all the mass contributing to angular momentum to a point along the spring which is ##1/\sqrt{3}=0.577## along the spring, i.e. between a half and 2/3 of ##r##. There is then an associated centripetal force from which you can get the extension as Drakkith suggested.
 
inertia moment of long uniform rod through end is I=1/3ML² what if rod has hollow. what is inertia moment?
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
3K
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
5K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
3K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K