What Is Torque
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ScribdTranslationsWhat Is Torque
Uploaded by
ScribdTranslationsWhat is torque?
Torque is a measure of force that can cause an object to rotate around a
axis. Just as force is what makes an object accelerate in linear kinematics, torque is the
What causes an object to acquire angular acceleration.
Torque is a vector quantity. The direction of the torque vector depends on the direction of the
force on the axis.
Anyone who has ever opened a door has an intuitive understanding of torque.
When someone opens a door, they push the side of the door for longer.
hinges. Pushing the side of the door closer to the hinges requires
considerably more strength. Although thework doneit's the same in both cases (the biggest
force would be applied over a shorter distance) people generally prefer to apply less
force, then it explains the usual position of the doorknob.
Figure 1: Opening a door with maximum torque.
Torque can be both static and dynamic.
Static torque is one that does not produce an angular acceleration. Someone
pushing a locked door is applying a static torque on the door, as the
the door is not rotating around the hinges, despite the applied force. Someone
pedaling a bicycle at a constant speed is also applying torque
static because there is no acceleration.
The drive shaft in a racing car, accelerating from the starting line,
It is loading a dynamic torque, as it must be producing an angular acceleration.
of the wheels, as the car is accelerating along the track.
The terminology used when describing torque can be confusing. Engineers
sometimes they use the term moment, or moment of force, interchangeably with 'torque'.
The radius in which the force acts is sometimes called the lever arm.
How is torque measured?
ASI unitfor torque it is the Newton-meter.
In the imperial system (used, among others, by the United States and Liberia) the
The pound-foot unit is commonly used. This can create confusion, considering that the pound
it is popularly used in these countries as a unit of mass and, sometimes,
force. When used in this last sense, the pound refers to the unit pound-force, the force
resulting from the action of gravity on an object with a mass of one pound. The magnitude
these units are generally similar, as 1 Nm≃1.74 feet⋅libra.
Calculating the static torque acting on a non-rotating system is usually very
easy and can be done by measuring the force acting on this system. Thus,
Given the length of the lever arm, the torque can be found directly.
Measuring torque in a rotating system is considerably more difficult. A method of
The solution to the problem is measuring the deformation within the metal of a shaft.
transmission that is transmitting torque and sending this information over a network without
fio (wireless).
What role does torque play in the kinematics of rotation?
In the kinematics of rotation (also known as angular kinematics), torque
plays the same role as force in linear kinematics. There is, therefore, a
direct equivalence to Newton's second law (F = ma),
τ = Iα
Here α is the angular acceleration. III is therotational inertia also known as
as a moment of inertia, a property of a rotational system that depends on the
mass distribution of the system. The greater III is, the more difficult it is for the object
acquire angular acceleration. This expression is detailedly calculated and explained in
our article aboutrotational inertia.
What is rotational equilibrium?
The concept of rotational equilibrium is equivalent to Newton's First Law for systems.
in rotation. An object that is not spinning remains non-spinning unless a torque
external action on the system. Likewise, an object rotating at a speed
Angular momentum will remain spinning unless it suffers external torque.
The concept of rotational equilibrium is very useful in problems involving multiple torques.
acting on the same rotating object. In this case, it is the resultant torque that is
important. If the resultant torque acting on an object is zero then it is in
rotational equilibrium and there will be no angular acceleration.
Exercise 1:
Consider the wheel shown in Figure 4, where two forces are acting. What
is the force F_2 needed for
Is the wheel in rotational equilibrium?
Figure 4: a wheel under the action of two torques.
[Solution]
\tau_1 \tau, \text{ start subscript, } 1, \text{ end subscript } F_1 F, \text{ start subscript, } 1, \text{ end }
subscript
τ₁ = F r sin(θ)
(5~\mathrm{N})\cdot (0.075~\mathrm{m}) \sin(135^ ext{circ}) \ &\simeq
+0.265~\mathrm{Nm}
tau_1 + tau_2 = 0tau
subscript, 2, end subscript, equals, 0
τ_2 = -F_2 imes 0.1~\mathrm{m} imes \sin(90^\circ)F_2 \simeq
2.65 N
What is the relationship between torque, power, and energy?
Frequently, there is confusion between
torquepowereenergy. For example, the torque of an engine is at
often incorrectly described as its 'rotation power'.
Torque and energy have the same dimensions (that is, they can be
written in the same fundamental units), but they do not measure the
same thing. They differ in the sense that torque is a quantity
vector defined only for a rotating system.
Power, however, can be calculated from torque if the
rotation speed is known. In fact, the power of a
motor is normally not measured directly, but calculated from
of the torque that was measured and of the rotational speed. The relationship is:
P=Force⋅DistanceTime=F⋅2πrt=2πτω(ωem revolutions/sec
undo) = (radianos/segundo)
Together with thepower, the torque peak produced by the engine of
A vehicle is an important and commonly cited specification.
Practically speaking, the peak torque is relevant to describe how
quickly a vehicle will accelerate just like its capacity to
pull a load. The power of the engine (in relation to the weight), on the other hand
the side is more relevant to the maximum speed of a vehicle.
Explain
It is important to note, however, that despite the power and torque
maximum to be useful general specifications, they are of limited use to
to perform calculations involving the general movement of a vehicle. This
it happens, because in practice both vary according to the speed of
rotation. The general relationship can be non-linear and different for different
types of motor, as shown in Figure 5.
