Mechanical Rotational Systems

De La Salle Lipa
College of Information Technology and Engineering
Electrical Engineering Department
Rotational systems
• The equations characterizing rotational systems are
similar to those for translation systems. Writing torque
equations parallels the writing of force equations, where
the displacement, velocity, and acceleration terms are
now angular quantities. The applied torque is equal to the
sum of the reaction torques. The three elements in a
rotational system are inertia, the spring, and the dashpot.
Moment of inertia
The torque applied to a body
having a moment of inertia J
produces an angular acceleration.
The reaction torque Tj is
opposite to the direction of the
applied torque and is equal to
the product of moment of inertia
and acceleration. In terms of
angular acceleration α, angular
velocity ω, or angular T j = J α = J D ω = J D 2θ
displacement θ, the torque
equation is
Elastance (Spring)
When a torque is applied to a spring,
the spring is twisted by an angle θ.
The applied torque is transmitted
through the spring and appears at
the end. The reaction spring torque
Tk that is produced is equal to the
product of the stiffness, or elastance,
K of the spring and the angle of
twist. By denoting the positions of
the two ends of the spring,
measured from the neutral position, Tk = K ( θc – θd )
as θc and θd, the reaction torque is
Damping (Dashpot)
Damping occurs whenever a body
moves through a fluid, which may be
a liquid or a gas such as air. To
produce motion of the body, a
torque must be applied to overcome
the reaction damping torque. The
damping is represented as a dashpot
with a viscous friction coefficient.
The damping torque TB is equal to
the product of damping B and the TB = B (ωe – ωf ) = B (Dθe – Dθf )
relative angular velocity of the ends
of the dashpot.
Mechanical Rotational Symbols and Units
Simple Mechanical
Rotational System

Mechanical Equivalent Circuit

Node Equation:
J D 2 θ + B Dθ + K θ = T (t)