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Torque

Torque is a measure of rotational force. It is defined as the cross product of the force vector and the vector from the axis of rotation to the point where the force is applied. Torque has units of Newton-meters and describes the tendency of force to cause an object to rotate. For static equilibrium, the sum of the torques on an object must equal zero. Torque is important in mechanics and is a key specification for engines, relating their rotational power output.

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32 views

Torque

Torque is a measure of rotational force. It is defined as the cross product of the force vector and the vector from the axis of rotation to the point where the force is applied. Torque has units of Newton-meters and describes the tendency of force to cause an object to rotate. For static equilibrium, the sum of the torques on an object must equal zero. Torque is important in mechanics and is a key specification for engines, relating their rotational power output.

Uploaded by

Souvik Ghosh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TORQUE

In physics, torque can be thought of informally as "rotational force". Torque is

measured in units of newton metres, and its symbol is τ. The concept of torque,

also called moment or couple, originated with the work of Archimedes on levers.

The rotational analogues of force, mass and acceleration are torque, inertia

and angular acceleration respectively. The force applied to a lever, multiplied by

its distance from the lever's fulcrum, is the torque. For example, a force of

three newtons applied two metres from the fulcrum exerts the same torque as one

newton applied six metres from the fulcrum. This assumes the force is in a

direction at right to the straight lever. More generally, one may define torque as

the cross product:

where

F is the vector of force.

r is the vector from the axis of rotation to the point on which the force is acting.
Units

Torque has dimensions of force times distance and the SI units of torque are stated

as "newton-metres". Even though the order of "newton" and "metre" are

mathematically interchangeable, the BIPM (Bureau International des Poids et

Mesures) specifies that the order should be N•m not m•N[1].

The joule, the SI unit for energy or work, is also defined as 1 N•m, but this unit is

not used for torque. Since energy can be thought of as the result of "force dot

distance", energy is always a scalar whereas torque is "force cross distance" and so

is a (pseudo) vector-valued quantity. Of course, the dimensional equivalence of

these units is not simply a coincidence; a torque of 1 N·m applied through a full

revolution will require anenergy of exactly 2π joules. Mathematically,

where

E is the energy

τ is torque

θ is the angle moved, in radians.

Other non-SI units of torque include "pound-force-feet" or "foot-pounds-force" or

"ounce-force-inches or meter-kilograms-force.
Special cases and other facts

Moment arm formula

Moment arm diagram

A very useful special case, often given as the definition of torque in fields other

than physics, is as follows:

The construction of the "moment arm" is shown in the figure below, along with the

vectors r and F mentioned above. The problem with this definition is that it does

not give the direction of the torque but only the magnitude, and hence it is difficult

to use in three-dimensional cases. If the force is perpendicular to the displacement

vector r, the moment arm will be equal to the distance to the centre, and torque will

be a maximum for the given force. The equation for the magnitude of a torque

arising from a perpendicular force:


For example, if a person places a force of 10 N on a spanner which is 0.5m long,

the torque will be 5 N·m, assuming that the person pulls the spanner in the

direction best suited to turning bolts.

Force at an angle

If a force of magnitude F is at an angle θ from the displacement arm of

length r (and within the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis), then from the

definition of cross product, the magnitude of the torque arising is:

Static equilibrium

For an object to be at static equilibrium, not only must the sum of the forces be

zero, but also the sum of the torques (moments) about any point. For a two-

dimensional situation with horizontal and vertical forces, the sum of the forces

requirement is two equations: ΣH = 0 and ΣV = 0, and the torque a third equation:

Στ = 0. That is, to solve statically determinate equilibrium problems in two-

dimensions, we use three equations.

Torque as a function of time

Torque is the time-derivative of angular momentum, just as force is the time

derivative of linear momentum. For multiple torques acting simultaneously:


where L is angular momentum.

Angular momentum on a rigid body can be written in terms of its moment of

inertia and its angular velocity :

so if is constant,

where α is angular acceleration, a quantity usually measured in rad/s²

Machine torque

Torque is part of the basic specification of an engine: the power output of an

engine is expressed as its torque multiplied by its rotational speed. Internal-

combustion engines produce useful torque only over a limited range of rotational

speeds (typically from around 1,000–6,000 rpm for a small car). The varying

torque output over that range can be measured with a dynamometer, and shown as

a torque curve. The peak of that torque curve usually occurs somewhat below the

overall power peak. The torque peak cannot, by definition, appear at higher rpm

than the power peak.


Understanding the relationship between torque, power and engine speed is vital

in automotive engineering, concerned as it is with transmitting power from the

engine through the drive train to the wheels. The gearing of the drive train must be

chosen appropriately to make the most of the motor's torque characteristics.

Steam engines and electric motors tend to produce maximum torque at or around

zero rpm, with the torque diminishing as rotational speed rises (due to increasing

friction and other constraints). Therefore, these types of engines usually have quite

different types of drivetrains from internal combustion engines.

Torque is also the easiest way to explain mechanical advantage in just about

every simple machine.

Source: http://engineering.wikia.com/wiki/Torque

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