Required torque to accelerate a disk of a certain mass

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the torque required to accelerate a disk with a specified mass and radius from rest to a certain rotational speed within a given time frame. The subject area includes concepts from rotational dynamics and angular motion.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate the moment of inertia, average angular velocity, angular acceleration, and torque using provided formulas. They express uncertainty about the correctness of their calculations and the units of torque and moment of inertia.

Discussion Status

Some participants affirm the original poster's method while clarifying the distinction between change in angular velocity and average angular velocity. There is an ongoing exploration of the units of torque, with some guidance provided regarding the correct interpretation of these units.

Contextual Notes

The original poster indicates that this problem is part of a project rather than a homework assignment, which may influence the level of detail and rigor expected in the discussion.

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Homework Statement



(Actually, this is not a homework, but a project I'm trying to accomplish
but I have almost forgotten physics...)

There is a disk weighting 100kg with a radius of 0.6 meters. What would be the torque needed to accelerate the disk from 0 rpm to 6 rpm in 10 seconds?

Variables:

m=100 kg
r=0.6 meters
rpmA=0 rpm
rpmB=6 rpm
t=10 seconds

Homework Equations



If I'm not wrong:

The mass moment of inertia of a disk with a uniform mass is considered to be:
(m*r^2)/2
where m=mass, r= radius

Converting rpm to radians/sec:
rad/s = rpm * (pi/30)
where pi = 3.14159...


The Attempt at a Solution



So, trying to solve the problem:

moment of inertia of the disk
I = (m*r^2)/2
= (100*0.6^2)/2
= 18

Average angular velocity in radians per second
v = (rpmB-rpmA) * (pi/30)
= 0.628319

Angular acceleration in rad/s^2
a = Angular velocity in radians per sec /t sec
= v/t
= 0.0628319

Torque
T = Angular acceleration * Moment of Inertia
= a*I
= 1.13097

Is this correct?
Is the above result of Torque in Kg-m?
What exactly is the unit of the above inertia result? Is it Kg-m^2 ?

Any help will be appreciated!
 
Last edited:
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Your method looks correct. I haven't checked your math. Note that rpmB-rpmA is not the average angular velocity. It is the change in angular velocity. In any case, that's what you want -- the change in angular velocity. That is because, for uniform acceleration, a = (change in v)/time.

Torque has units of Newton-metres.

1 N = 1 kg*m/s^2
1 Nm = 1 kg*m^2/s^2

Moment of inertia has units of kg*m^2...and multiplying by the angular acceleration to get torque gives you the missing 1/s^2.
 
cepheid said:
Your method looks correct. I haven't checked your math. Note that rpmB-rpmA is not the average angular velocity. It is the change in angular velocity. In any case, that's what you want -- the change in angular velocity. That is because, for uniform acceleration, a = (change in v)/time.

Torque has units of Newton-metres.

1 N = 1 kg*m/s^2
1 Nm = 1 kg*m^2/s^2

Moment of inertia has units of kg*m^2...and multiplying by the angular acceleration to get torque gives you the missing 1/s^2.

cepheid, thanks for the reply!

Yes, it is the change in angular velocity not the average -that was stupid!

But I'm still confused about the output torque unit of the above calculation. On this site http://nmbtc.com/Calculators/converter.swf" it has Kg-m and N-m torque units. Should I consider the above result as N-m? If so, that would mean that it requires about 10 times less torque than if the output unit is Kg-m!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nevermind, just found an example which used Kg and meters and the output torque unit was Newton meters! So it is N-m! :smile:
 

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