Gears & gear trains
- Meshing gears
- n1·N1 = n2·N2
- Torque
- T2 = T1·(N2/N1)·η
- Power
- P = T·ω, ω = 2π·n/60
- Compound train
- total ratio = product of the stage ratios
Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 12 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
A 160 mm pulley at 1450 rpm drives a 250 mm pulley by a belt with 3 % slip. Find the speed n2 of the driven pulley.
In a planetary gear set the sun gear has 16 teeth and each planet gear has 30 teeth. The planet carrier is held fixed and the sun is driven at 900 rpm. Find the speed nr of the ring gear (magnitude).
In a torsion test, a solid specimen of diameter 15 mm is twisted by a torque of 100 N·m. The two ends of a gauge length of 300 mm rotate 4.32° relative to each other (the material is still elastic). Find the shear modulus G of the material.
A solid aluminium shaft transmits 15 kW at 500 rpm. The shear stress must not exceed 75 MPa and the twist must not exceed 0.25° per m of length. Find the smallest diameter d that satisfies both limits.
A point has σₓ = 30 MPa, σᵧ = −10 MPa and τₓᵧ = −60 MPa (tension positive). The element is rotated 20° clockwise. Find the normal stress σy′ on the faces of the rotated element that are perpendicular to the rotated y′-axis.
A point in a loaded part has σₓ = 70 MPa, σᵧ = 80 MPa and τₓᵧ = 10 MPa (tension positive). Find the normal stress σθ on a plane whose normal is rotated 30° counter-clockwise from the x-axis.
A steel rod (diameter 30 mm, E = 200 GPa) sits inside a tube made of bronze (outer diameter 100 mm, inner diameter 60 mm, E = 110 GPa). Both are 800 mm long and are compressed together between rigid plates by 300 kN. Find the shortening δ.
The stepped bar is fixed at the wall and loaded at its free end. Find the largest normal stress σmax in the bar.
A column of length L made of steel is fixed at the base and free at the top. Using Euler’s formula, find its critical buckling load Pcr.
A solid round column of length L made of aluminium is fixed at the base and free at the top. It must carry 90 kN with a factor of safety of 2.5 against buckling. Find the smallest diameter d.
A 25 kg mass on a spring with a stiffness of 15 kN/m has a viscous damper giving a damping ratio of 0.7. Find the damped natural frequency fd of its free vibration in Hz.
A 25 kg mass hangs from two springs side by side (in parallel), with stiffnesses k₁ = 80 kN/m and k₂ = 15 kN/m. The mass stays level. Find the equivalent stiffness keq of the spring system in kN/m.
Answer: n2 = 900.2 rpm
Belt drives: without slip, both pulleys have the same rim speed v = π·d·n/60, so n₁·d₁ = n₂·d₂ and the speed ratio is d₂/d₁. Slip s makes the driven pulley a little slower: n₂ = n₁·(d₁/d₂)·(1 − s). The power transmitted is P = (T₁ − T₂)·v, with T₁ the tension on the tight side and T₂ on the slack side. Friction limits the ratio of the tensions: T₁/T₂ = eμθ, where θ is the angle of wrap in radians on the smaller pulley; for an open belt θ = π − 2·asin((d₂ − d₁)/(2C)) with centre distance C.
Answer: nr = 189.5 rpm
Planetary gear sets: the speeds of sun, ring and carrier are linked by the Willis equation (ns − nc)/(nr − nc) = −Nr/Ns: seen from the carrier, the set is an ordinary train with the planets as idlers. Holding one member fixed turns the set into a single-ratio reducer.
With nc = 0 the sun drives the ring through the planets, which act as idlers.
The ring turns opposite to the sun.
Answer: G = 80.06 GPa
Torsion of circular shafts: shear stress grows linearly from zero at the centre to τmax = T·r/J at the surface, with J = πd⁴/32 for a solid shaft and J = π(do⁴ − di⁴)/32 for a hollow one. The angle of twist is φ = TL/(GJ) in radians. Power and torque are linked by P = T·ω.
Compare: steel ≈ 80 GPa, brass ≈ 39 GPa, aluminium ≈ 26 GPa.
Answer: d = 71.22 mm
Torsion of circular shafts: shear stress grows linearly from zero at the centre to τmax = T·r/J at the surface, with J = πd⁴/32 for a solid shaft and J = π(do⁴ − di⁴)/32 for a hollow one. The angle of twist is φ = TL/(GJ) in radians. Power and torque are linked by P = T·ω.
Both limits must hold, so the larger diameter governs.
Here stiffness governs.
Answer: σy′ = −43.89 MPa
Plane stress transformation: on a plane rotated by θ, σ = (σₓ + σᵧ)/2 + (σₓ − σᵧ)/2·cos 2θ + τₓᵧ·sin 2θ. Mohr’s circle shows all planes at once: its centre is at C = (σₓ + σᵧ)/2 and its radius is R = √(((σₓ − σᵧ)/2)² + τₓᵧ²). The principal stresses are C ± R, and the largest in-plane shear stress is R.
The sum of the normal stresses does not change with rotation.
Answer: σθ = 81.16 MPa
Plane stress transformation: on a plane rotated by θ, σ = (σₓ + σᵧ)/2 + (σₓ − σᵧ)/2·cos 2θ + τₓᵧ·sin 2θ. Mohr’s circle shows all planes at once: its centre is at C = (σₓ + σᵧ)/2 and its radius is R = √(((σₓ − σᵧ)/2)² + τₓᵧ²). The principal stresses are C ± R, and the largest in-plane shear stress is R.
Answer: δ = 0.3457 mm
Two materials: in series (one after the other) every segment carries the same force and the elongations add: δ = P·Σ L/(E·A). In parallel (side by side between rigid plates) both parts shorten by the same amount, so their strains are equal: the stiffer part takes the larger share, Pi = P·EiAi/ΣEA, and σi = Ei·ε. A bar held between two rigid walls with a load at the junction is statically indeterminate: the two segments share the load in proportion to their stiffness k = EA/L.
Answer: σmax = 309.5 MPa
Axially loaded members: each prismatic segment obeys δ = PL/(AE). For members in series the elongations add.
The free end carries P, so every section of the bar carries the same axial force P. Only the areas and materials change.
The thinner segment has the smaller area, so it carries the larger stress.
Answer: Pcr = 441 kN
Euler buckling: a slender column becomes unstable at Pcr = π²EI/(KL)², where KL is the effective length: K = 1 for pinned–pinned, 2 for fixed–free, 0.7 for fixed–pinned and 0.5 for fixed–fixed. It buckles about the axis with the smallest I. The formula holds for slender columns, whose critical stress stays below the yield stress.
A round section has the same I about every axis.
Answer: d = 101.5 mm
Euler buckling: a slender column becomes unstable at Pcr = π²EI/(KL)², where KL is the effective length: K = 1 for pinned–pinned, 2 for fixed–free, 0.7 for fixed–pinned and 0.5 for fixed–fixed. It buckles about the axis with the smallest I. The formula holds for slender columns, whose critical stress stays below the yield stress.
Check: the slenderness KL/r is 157.6, so the column is slender and Euler applies.
Answer: fd = 2.784 Hz
Free vibration of a mass–spring system: the undamped natural frequency is ωn = √(k/m) in rad/s, and fn = ωn/(2π) in Hz. A viscous damper c gives the damping ratio ζ = c/cc, with critical damping cc = 2·√(k·m) = 2·m·ωn. An underdamped system (ζ < 1) oscillates at ωd = ωn·√(1 − ζ²). Springs in parallel add, k = k₁ + k₂; springs in series add as reciprocals, 1/k = 1/k₁ + 1/k₂.
Answer: keq = 95 kN/m
Free vibration of a mass–spring system: the undamped natural frequency is ωn = √(k/m) in rad/s, and fn = ωn/(2π) in Hz. A viscous damper c gives the damping ratio ζ = c/cc, with critical damping cc = 2·√(k·m) = 2·m·ωn. An underdamped system (ζ < 1) oscillates at ωd = ωn·√(1 − ζ²). Springs in parallel add, k = k₁ + k₂; springs in series add as reciprocals, 1/k = 1/k₁ + 1/k₂.
Springs side by side share the deflection and add their forces, so their stiffnesses simply add: k = k1 + k2.
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