A flywheel of mass 500kg and radius 1m make 500rev/min. Assuming the mass to be concentrated along the rim, calculate the energy of the flywheel

Answer 1

To calculate the energy of the flywheel, we can use the formula for the kinetic energy of a rotating object:

K.E. = (1/2) I ω^2

Where K.E. is the kinetic energy, I is the moment of inertia, and ω is the angular velocity.

First, we need to find the moment of inertia for the flywheel. The moment of inertia for a solid disk can be calculated using the formula:

I = (1/2) m r^2

Where m is the mass of the flywheel and r is the radius.

I = (1/2) (500 kg) (1 m)^2
I = 250 kg m^2

Now, we can find the angular velocity of the flywheel. The angular velocity is given in terms of revolutions per minute, so we need to convert it to radians per second:

ω = (500 rev/min) * (2π rad/rev) * (1 min/60 s)
ω = 52.36 rad/s

Now, we can calculate the kinetic energy of the flywheel:

K.E. = (1/2) I ω^2
K.E. = (1/2) (250 kg m^2) (52.36 rad/s)^2
K.E. = 346,132 J

Therefore, the energy of the flywheel is 346,132 Joules.