Physical units problem for a DC Motor with viscous friction

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the conversion of the viscous friction coefficient for a DC motor from Newton-meter-second (N*m*s) to Newton-meter-second per radian (N*m*s/rad). It is established that the viscous friction coefficient can be expressed in terms of N*m*s/rad for rotational systems, while linear systems use Ns/m. The confusion arises from the dimensional nature of radians, which are considered dimensionless. The consensus is that there is no conversion factor between these units, as 1 s/rad equals 1 s.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of DC motor dynamics
  • Familiarity with viscous friction coefficients
  • Knowledge of angular frequency and its units
  • Basic grasp of dimensional analysis
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the derivation of DC motor differential equations
  • Explore the relationship between linear and rotational motion in mechanical systems
  • Study the implications of dimensionless quantities in physics
  • Learn about the applications of viscous friction in engineering contexts
USEFUL FOR

Engineers, physics students, and anyone involved in the design or analysis of DC motors and mechanical systems will benefit from this discussion.

IzitoI
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Homework Statement
30*10^-6 N*m*s
Relevant Equations
x N*m*s/rad
Hi everyone,

I'm trying to derive DC motor differential equations. I have some doubts:

I have a viscous friction coefficient in terms of N*m*s. Is it possible to express it in terms of N*m*s/rad? And how?

Some exercises show this value in Newton-meter-second and others in Newton-meter-second/rad so I'm a little bit confused.

Thank you :smile:
 
Physics news on Phys.org
A rad is not really a unit but a dimensionless quantity. It is used to express the measure of an angle as the ratio of the length of an arc ##s## on a circle of radius ##r##, that is ##\theta = s/r##. The angular frequency ##\omega## is given by ##\omega=\frac{d\theta}{dt}## and you see it expressed sometimes as rad/s and sometimes as s-1. To answer your question, 1 s/rad = 1 s.; there is no conversion factor.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: IzitoI and Dr.D
kuruman said:
A rad is not really a unit but a dimensionless quantity. It is used to express the measure of an angle as the ratio of the length of an arc ##s## on a circle of radius ##r##, that is ##\theta = s/r##. The angular frequency ##\omega## is given by ##\omega=\frac{d\theta}{dt}## and you see it expressed sometimes as rad/s and sometimes as s-1. To answer your question, 1 s/rad = 1 s.; there is no conversion factor.
I thought was like that but I wasn't sure. Thank you so much 😉
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: berkeman
IzitoI said:
Hi everyone,

I'm trying to derive DC motor differential equations. I have some doubts:

I have a viscous friction coefficient in terms of N*m*s. Is it possible to express it in terms of N*m*s/rad? And how?

Some exercises show this value in Newton-meter-second and others in Newton-meter-second/rad so I'm a little bit confused.

Thank you :smile:
There seems to be something wrong with one of your units.
For viscous friction coefficient, you can have Ns/m for linear or Nms/rad for rotational.
See e.g. https://lpsa.swarthmore.edu/Systems/MechRotating/RotMechSysElem.html
There is no Nms.

More generally, there have been many attempts to ascribe dimension to rotation, and it can be done, but it turns out to be "imaginary" in the sense that although radian has this new dimension radian2 is dimensionless.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
4K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
1K
Replies
18
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
8K
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K