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Percentage Change

The terms “relative change” and “relative difference” are used to compare two quantities while taking into account the ... more

Miller's Rule

In optics, Miller’s rule is an empirical rule which gives an estimate of the order of magnitude of the nonlinear coefficient.

More formally, ... more

Second moment of area - I-Beam (W-section)

An I-beam, also known as H-beam, W-beam (for “wide flange”), Universal Beam (UB), Rolled Steel Joist (RSJ), or ... more

Speed of Sound (air, ideal gases) - relative to molar mass

The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. The SI unit of the speed of sound is the ... more

Petroff's Law - Torque required to shear the lubricant film

In the design of fluid bearings, the Sommerfeld number (S), or bearing characteristic number, is a dimensionless quantity used extensively in hydrodynamic ... more

Petroff's Law - shear stress in the lubricant

In the design of fluid bearings, the Sommerfeld number (S), or bearing characteristic number, is a dimensionless quantity used extensively in hydrodynamic ... more

Plasma conductivity

Electrical resistivity (also known as resistivity, specific electrical resistance, or volume resistivity) is an intrinsic property that quantifies how ... more

Worksheet 333

A typical small rescue helicopter, like the one in the Figure below, has four blades, each is 4.00 m long and has a mass of 50.0 kg. The blades can be approximated as thin rods that rotate about one end of an axis perpendicular to their length. The helicopter has a total loaded mass of 1000 kg. (a) Calculate the rotational kinetic energy in the blades when they rotate at 300 rpm. (b) Calculate the translational kinetic energy of the helicopter when it flies at 20.0 m/s, and compare it with the rotational energy in the blades. (c) To what height could the helicopter be raised if all of the rotational kinetic energy could be used to lift it?


The first image shows how helicopters store large amounts of rotational kinetic energy in their blades. This energy must be put into the blades before takeoff and maintained until the end of the flight. The engines do not have enough power to simultaneously provide lift and put significant rotational energy into the blades.
The second image shows a helicopter from the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. Over 50,000 lives have been saved since its operations beginning in 1973. Here, a water rescue operation is shown. (credit: 111 Emergency, Flickr)

Strategy

Rotational and translational kinetic energies can be calculated from their definitions. The last part of the problem relates to the idea that energy can change form, in this case from rotational kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy.

Solution for (a)

We must convert the angular velocity to radians per second and calculate the moment of inertia before we can find Er . The angular velocity ω for 1 r.p.m is

Angular velocity

and for 300 r.p.m

Multiplication

The moment of inertia of one blade will be that of a thin rod rotated about its end.

Moment of Inertia - Rod end

The total I is four times this moment of inertia, because there are four blades. Thus,

Multiplication

and so The rotational kinetic energy is

Rotational energy

Solution for (b)

Translational kinetic energy is defined as

Kinetic energy ( related to the object 's velocity )

To compare kinetic energies, we take the ratio of translational kinetic energy to rotational kinetic energy. This ratio is

Division

Solution for (c)

At the maximum height, all rotational kinetic energy will have been converted to gravitational energy. To find this height, we equate those two energies:

Potential energy

Discussion

The ratio of translational energy to rotational kinetic energy is only 0.380. This ratio tells us that most of the kinetic energy of the helicopter is in its spinning blades—something you probably would not suspect. The 53.7 m height to which the helicopter could be raised with the rotational kinetic energy is also impressive, again emphasizing the amount of rotational kinetic energy in the blades.

Reference : OpenStax College,College Physics. OpenStax College. 21 June 2012.
http://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/college-physics
Creative Commons License : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

True Airspeed - Low-speed flight

The true airspeed (TAS; also KTAS, for knots true airspeed) of an aircraft is the speed of the aircraft relative to the airmass ... more

Petroff's Law - Torque required to shear the lubricant film (for small radial loads)

In the design of fluid bearings, the Sommerfeld number (S), or bearing characteristic number, is a dimensionless quantity used extensively in hydrodynamic ... more

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