ROTATION OF RIGID BODIES

A rigid body is an idealized model of a body which has a perfectly definite

and unchanging shape and size. It is a body where all the particles maintain their
relative position as it rotates. When a body rotates about a fixed axis, its motion
can be described by the quantities angular position, angular displacement, angular
velocity and angular acceleration.

Angular displacement:

Consider an object that rotates starting from point A and ends at point B. The
angular displacement (∆θ) is defined as the change in angular position, during a
time interval Δt. In symbols,

   f   i

The angular displacement is expressed in radians (rad).

To convert between radians, revolutions, and degrees use the conversion:

1revolution=2 π radians=360 degrees

One rad is the angle (θ) subtended by an arc with a length (s) equal to the radius R
of the circle.
1 rad: s = r

The value of θ (in radians) is equal to s divided by r. In symbols,

s
θ=
r
Angular Velocity:

The average angular velocity ω of a body in the time interval ∆t as the ratio of
the angular displacement to ∆t.
Δθ
ω=
Δt

Angular acceleration:

When the angular velocity of a rigid body changes, it has an angular acceleration.

If
ω1 and ω2 are the instantaneous angular velocities at times t1 and t 2 , the
average angular acceleration α over the time interval
Δt=t 2 −t 1 as the change in
angular velocity divided by Δt .
Δω
α=
Δt

It can be observed that angular motions are derived from linear motion. To
transform linear motion to angular motion, the following replacements are made

1. X → θ, 2. v → ω 3. a →α

We can therefore derive formulas for rotational motion in the same manner as the
linear motion. Below is the summary.

LINEAR ROTATIONAL______

1. x=vt -------------- zero acceleration------- 1. θ=ω t

v 1+v 2 ω +ω
2. x= t --------- acceleration free------- 2. θ= 1 2 t
2 2
3. v 2=v 1 +at ----- displacement free------ 3. ω 2=ω1 + α t
1 2 1 2
4. x=v 1 t+ a t ----- final velocity free------- 4. θ=ω1 t+ α t
2 2
2 2 2 2
5. 2 ax=v 2−v 1----- time free---------------- 5. 2 αθ=ω 2−ω 1
__________________________________________________________________

Relating Linear and Angular Kinematics

The arc length s in a circle is given by

x=s=Rθ
Where s is the arc length, R is the radius of the circle and θ is the angle.
The linear speed of the particle is
x/t = v=Rω
and its linear acceleration is
 v
=a t=R α
t

The acceleration due to the change in its direction is radial acceleration given by
2
a r=R ω

Summary of the Relation Between Linear and Angular Motion

s=Rθ
v=Rω
a t=R α
2
a r=R ω

Energy in Rotational Motion

A rotating rigid body consists of mass in motion, so it has kinetic energy. This
Energy can be expressed in terms of the body’s angular velocity and a quantity
called moment of inertia.

The moment of inertia of a body is a measure of the resistance of an object

to changes in its rotational motion. For a system of particles of masses
mi at
r
distances i from an axis passing through a point P the rotational inertia of the
system about the axis is given by:
I =m 1 r 2 +m 2 r 2 +. . .=∑ mi r 2
1 2 i i

The SI unit of moment of inertia is kg.m2.

In terms of moment of inertia (I), the rotational kinetic energy of a rigid body is:

1
K= Iω2
2
The SI unit of the rotational kinetic energy is Joule (J).
 SAMPLE PROBLEMS

1. A wheel rotates with a constant angular acceleration of 3.5 rad/s2 . The initial angular
speed of the wheel is 2.0 rad/s.

a. Through what angle does the wheel rotate in 2 s? Given your answer in radians and in
revolutions.
b. What is the angular speed of the wheel at t = 2 s?

Solution
a. Given α = 3.5 rad/s2 , ω 1=2 rad /s , t = 2 s
Required: θ = ?

Formula: ω 2−free . This is because no ω 2is in the given and required

1 2 rad 1
θ=ω1 t+ α t θ=2 ( 2 s ) + 3.5 rad /s 2 (2 s)2
2 s 2

θ=11rad
180 o
o 1 rev
θ=11rad x =630.25 or θ=11rad x =1.75 rev
π rad 2 π rad

b. Given α = 3.5 rad/s2 , ω 1=2 rad/s , t = 2 s

ω
Required: 2 =?
Formula is displacement free ω 2=ω1 + α t
rad 3.5 rad
ω 2=2 + ( 2 s)
s s
2

ω 2=9 rad / s

2. When drilling a 12.7-mm- diameter hole in wood, plastic, or aluminum, a shop manual
recommends a drill speed of 1250 rev/min. For a 12.7mm diameter turning at a constant 1250
 rev/min, find
a.) the maximum linear speed of any part of the bit;
b) the maximum radial acceleration of any part of the bit.

Given: R = 1/2 (diameter) = (1/2) 12.7 mm = 6.35 mm = 0.00635 m

rev 1min 2 πrad rad
ω=1250 x x =130.9
min 60 s 1 rev s

a) v=R ω=0.00635 m x 130.9 rad / s

v=¿0.831 m/s

2
b) a r=R ω a r=0.00635 m(130.9 rad /s )2
m
a r=108.8 2
s