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How to Calculate Torque for Plating

Torque is the force that tends to push an object around a central axis. It is crucial in understanding the physics of moving things such as autos, planes and spinning tops. Engineers often have to calculate the torque of a plate. They use a formula and algebraic calculation.

Instructions

- 1
  Obtain the measurements of the plate and the forces acting upon it. For example, assume that the plate is 2 meters on each side and has three forces of F1 = 20 Newtons, F2 = 15 Newtons and F3 = 12 Newtons.
- 2
  Write out the formula to calculate the torque on each side of the the plate.
  
  T1 = F1 * .5 * L
  T2 = F2 * .5 * L
  T3 = (F3 *. 5 * L)/sin45
  
  The reason for the difference in the third force calculation is that the perpendicular distance of force to the pivot point will be half of the diagonal of the square.
- 3
  Solve for the forces and add together to find the total torque. Continuing the example, you would input the numbers like this:
  
  T1 = 20 * .5 * 2 = 20 Newton Meters
  T2 = 15 * .5 * 2 = 15 Newton Meters
  T3 = (12 * .5 * 2) /sin45 = 14.1 Newton Meters
- 4
  Sum the values to find the total torque. So, continuing the example, T1 + T2 + T3 = 20 + 15+ 14.1 = 49.1 Newton Meters.

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