ENGR. JOSHUA C.

JUNIO

Module No. 5
Chapter 5
ROTATION
We see rotational motion examples in our daily life. The rotation of the
earth about its own axis creates the cycle of day and night. The motion of
wheel, gears, motors, etc. is rotational motion. The motion of the blades of a
helicopter is also a rotational motion. A door, swiveling on its hinges as you
open or close it, and a spinning top, motion of a Ferris Wheel in an amusement
park. These are all sample of rotational motion.
Objectives:
1. To understand the concept of rotational motion.
2. To perform calculations on problems involving rotational motion.
3. To apply the concept of rotational motion in solving problems related to
engineering.
5.1 Introduction
Rotation is defined as the motion of a rigid body in which the particles
move in circular paths with their centers on a fixed straight line that is
called the axis of rotation.
Consider a body which is free to rotate about a fixed axis O. All
particles of a rotating body have the same angular displacement although their
linear movements vary directly with their distances from the axis of rotation.
We define angular displacements as the angular distance swept through by
any line in a rigid body. The units of angular displacement may be radians,
degrees, or revolutions, but radian measurement is preferred in order to
correlate angular displacement with linear displacement.
The motion of translation of all particles have identical values of
linear displacement, linear velocity, and linear acceleration. The motion of
rotation has a similar characteristic; all the particles have the same values
of angular displacement, angular velocity, and angular acceleration.
It is important to note that the linear values of displacement, velocity,
and acceleration in a rotating body are not the same; they vary directly with
the distance of the particle from the axis of rotation.

Kinematic Differential Equation of Rotation

The relation between the linear displacement and the angular displacement
(in radians) of the pulley is given by the equation,
𝒔 = 𝒓𝜽 (𝑎)

Differentiating equation (a) with respect to time, we have

𝒅𝒔 𝒅𝜽
=𝒓 (𝑏)
𝒅𝒕 𝒅𝒕
Where,
𝑟 – constant radius of rotation
𝑑𝑠
– time rate of change of displacement, v
𝑑𝑡
𝑣 – linear velocity

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𝑑𝜃
𝑑𝑡
– time rate of change of angular displacement/ angular velocity, ω

Thus, the angular velocity at any instant is defined by the equation,

𝒅𝜽
=𝝎 (𝑐)
𝒅𝒕
The unit of the angular velocity is radians per second (rad per sec).
Other units are degrees per second (deg per sec) and revolutions per minute
(rpm).

Rewriting equation (b), we have,

𝒗 = 𝒓𝛚 (d)

Differentiating (d) with respect to time,

𝒅𝒗 𝒅𝛚
=𝒓 (𝑒)
𝒅𝒕 𝒅𝒕

Where,
𝑑𝑣
𝑑𝑡
– time rate of change of the velocity, denoted as acceleration 𝑎𝑡 , also
represents the tangential acceleration of a point
𝑑ω
– time rate of change of the angular velocity/ angular acceleration, α
𝑑𝑡

Thus, the angular acceleration at any instant is defined by the equation,

𝒅𝛚
𝜶= (𝑓)
𝒅𝒕

The unit of angular acceleration is radians per second per second (rad
per sec2). Other units include revolutions per minute per second (rpm per sec),
etc.

Equation (e) may be written as,

𝒂𝒕 = 𝒓𝜶 (𝑔)

For normal acceleration of any point, Since 𝒗 = 𝒓𝛚 , we have,

𝒗𝟐
𝒂𝒏 = = 𝒓𝛚𝟐 (ℎ)
𝒓

Using the kinematic differential equations (c) and (f), a third convenient
relation may be found by eliminating dt,
𝛚 𝒅𝝎 = 𝛂 𝒅𝛉 (i)

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Summarizing the differential equations of rotation and comparing to similar

expressions of rectilinear motion, we have,

Rectilinear Motion Rotation

𝒅𝒔 𝒅𝜽
𝒗= 𝝎=
𝒅𝒕 𝒅𝒕
𝒅𝒗 𝒅𝟐 𝒔 𝒅𝛚 𝒅𝟐 𝜽
𝒂= = 𝜶= = 𝟐
𝒅𝒕 𝒅𝒕𝟐 𝒅𝒕 𝒅𝒕
𝒗𝒅𝒗 = 𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝝎𝒅𝝎 = 𝜶𝒅𝜽

These relations differ only in the symbols used; they are therefore
mathematically identical. They can be transformed into each other by the
following relations:
𝒔 = 𝒓𝜽
𝒗 = 𝒓𝛚
𝒂𝒕 = 𝒓𝜶
𝒂𝒏 = 𝒓𝛚𝟐

5.2 Rotation with Constant Angular Acceleration

Since the form of the kinematic differential equations of rotation are
mathematically identical to the respective equations of rectilinear motion,
integration of similar equations in rotation will yield similar results. These
results are tabulated below,
Rectilinear Motion Related by Rotation
𝒗 = 𝒗𝒐 + 𝒂𝒕 𝒔 = 𝒓𝜽 𝝎 = 𝝎𝒐 + 𝜶𝒕

𝟏 𝒗 = 𝒓𝛚 𝟏
𝒙 = 𝒗𝒐 𝒕 + 𝒂𝒕𝟐 𝜽 = 𝝎𝒐 𝒕 + 𝜶𝒕𝟐
𝟐 𝟐
𝒗𝟐 = 𝒗𝟐𝒐 + 𝟐𝒂𝒙 𝒂𝒕 = 𝒓𝜶 𝝎𝟐 = 𝝎𝟐𝒐 + 𝟐𝜶𝜽

Sample Problems:
1. A flywheel 6 ft. in diameter accelerates from rest at a constant rate of
4 rpm/ sec.
a. Compute the angular velocity on the rim of the flywheel after 10 sec.
b. Compute the normal component of the acceleration of a particle on the
rim of the flywheel after 10 sec.
c. Compute the tangential component of the acceleration of a particle on
the rim of the flywheel after 10 sec.

2. When the angular velocity of a 4 ft. diameter pulley is 3 rad/sec, the

total acceleration of a point on its rim is 30 fps 2.
a. Determine the normal acceleration of the pulley at this instant.
b. Determine the tangential acceleration of the pulley at this instant.
c. Determine the angular acceleration of the pulley at this instant.

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3. The rim of a 50 inches wheel on a brake shoe testing machine has a speed
of 60 mph when the brake is dropped. It comes to rest after the rim has
traveled a linear distance of 600 ft. What are the constant angular
acceleration and the number of revolutions the wheel makes in coming to
rest?

5.3 Rotation with Variable Acceleration

Since the differential equations of rectilinear motion and of rotation
are mathematically identical, we need observe merely that the technique for
handling the case of rotation with variable angular acceleration.

Sample Problem:
1. The rotation of a pulley is defined by the relation 𝜃 = 2𝑡 4 − 30𝑡 2 + 6 where
Ɵ is measured in radians and t in seconds.
a. Compute the value of the angular displacement when t = 4 sec.
b. Compute the value of the angular velocity at the instant time t = 4
sec.
c. Compute the value of the angular acceleration at the instant time t =
4 sec.

2. The rotation of a flywheel is governed by the equation 𝜔 = 4√𝑡 , 𝜔 is in

radians per second and t is in seconds. 𝜃 = 2 𝑟𝑎𝑑 when 𝑡 = 1 𝑠𝑒𝑐. Compute
the values of 𝜃 and 𝛼 at the instant when 𝑡 = 3 𝑠𝑒𝑐.