EXAMINATION FOR

ME3112E Mechanics of Machine

(Semester I: 2012/2013)

Based above formula and compare with SolidWorks simulation result, we can see that the
theoretical result matches with Simulation quite well, especially when L becomes longer.
Table 1: Max Angular Acceleration: Theoretical vs. SolidWorks simulation.
(

0.6

0.9

1.2

1.5

1.8

2.1

2.4

4.8

9.6

10.5

14

17.5

21

24.5

28

56

112

Calculated Angular Acc

18.033

12.426

9.571

7.826

6.642

5.783

5.128

2.733

1.434

Simulated Angular Acc

16.405

11.948

9.378

7.732

6.591

5.752

5.108

2.731

1.433

9.93%

4.00%

2.06%

1.21%

0.78%

0.54%

0.38%

0.06%

0.01%

Difference:

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I also performed SolidWorks Simulation for Pinned disk case, here are the results:
Table 2: Max Angular Acceleration: Theoretical vs. SolidWorks simulation.
(

0.6

0.9

1.2

1.5

1.8

2.1

2.4

4.8

9.6

10.5

14

17.5

21

24.5

28

56

112

Calculated Angular Acc 18.033

12.426

9.571

7.826

6.642

5.783

5.128

2.733

1.434

Simulated Angular Acc

16.405
(Welded Disk)

11.948

9.378

7.732

6.591

5.752

5.108

2.731

1.433

Difference: 9.93%

4.00%

2.06%

1.21%

0.78%

0.54%

0.38%

0.06%

0.01%

Simulated Angular Acc

18.033
(Pinned Disk)

12.426

9.571

7.826

6.642

5.783

5.128

2.733

1.434

Difference: 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.000%

Surprisingly, the simulation result based on pinned disk matches with theoretical calculation
perfectly!
Which means the previously derived formula for maximum angular acceleration

is perfectly applicable for pinned disk case!

But what should be the appropriate formula for welded disk case???
SolidWorks Motion Simulation output example:

Displacement vs.
Time

Velocity vs.
Time

Acceleration vs.
Time

Page 2 of 3

For welded disk, the moment of inertia caused by disk should be calculated based on parallel
axis theorem:

where:
is the moment of inertia of the object about an axis passing through its centre of mass;
is the object's mass;
is the perpendicular distance between the axis of rotation and the axis that would pass
through the centre of mass.
Hence the equation of max acceleration will become:
(

Table 3: Max Angular Acceleration: Theoretical vs. SolidWorks Motion simulation.

(

0.6

0.9

1.2

1.5

1.8

2.1

2.4

4.8

9.6

10.5

14

17.5

21

24.5

28

56

112

Calculated Angular Acc

16.405
(Use equation 4)

11.948

9.378

7.732

6.591

5.752

5.108

2.731

1.433

Simulated Angular Acc

16.405
(Welded Disk)

11.948

9.378

7.732

6.591

5.752

5.108

2.731

1.433

Difference: -0.002%

0.001%

Calculated Angular Acc

18.033
(Use equation 3)

12.426

9.571

7.826

6.642

5.783

5.128

2.733

1.434

Simulated Angular Acc

18.033
(Pinned Disk)

12.426

9.571

7.826

6.642

5.783

5.128

2.733

1.434

-0.003% 0.002% -0.005% -0.003% 0.007%

0.017% 0.030%

Difference: 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.001% 0.000%

This time, the calculated result matches with SolidWorks Motion simulation perfectly!
Conclusion:
When the disk is welded, we should use parallel axis theorem to calculate its moment of inertia.
While when the disk is pinned, it is acting like a point mass at the end of rod.
I wish I had figure this out during exam,

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