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 15 kW motor running at 960 rpm drives a pinion with 15 teeth, which meshes with a gear with 25 teeth. The gear pair has an efficiency of 97%. Find the torque T1 on the motor shaft.
In a compound gear train, gear A (12 teeth) on the input shaft turning at 960 rpm drives gear B (72 teeth). Gear C (72 teeth) is fixed to the same shaft as B and drives gear D (80 teeth) on the output shaft. Find the output speed nout.
A solid steel shaft is fixed at the wall and twisted by a torque T at its free end. Find the angle of twist φ of the free end, in degrees.
A solid steel shaft transmits 20 kW at 300 rpm. The shear stress must not exceed 40 MPa and the twist must not exceed 0.5° per m of length. Find the smallest diameter d that satisfies both limits.
A point has σₓ = 140 MPa, σᵧ = −70 MPa and τₓᵧ = 30 MPa (tension positive). The element is rotated 35° counter-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 thin plate is in plane stress: σₓ = 10 MPa, σᵧ = 20 MPa and τₓᵧ = −60 MPa (σz = 0). Find the von Mises equivalent stress σvM.
A bar is made of a steel segment (diameter 20 mm, length 400 mm, E = 200 GPa) joined end to end with a segment made of copper (diameter 50 mm, length 200 mm, E = 120 GPa). It is fixed at one end and pulled at the other. Find the axial load P that stretches it by 0.5 mm in total.
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 both ends. Using Euler’s formula, find its critical buckling load Pcr.
A column of length L made of steel is fixed at the base and free at the top. Find its slenderness and the critical buckling stress σcr from Euler’s formula.
A 15 kg mass on a spring with a stiffness of 80 kN/m has a viscous damper giving a damping ratio of 0.3. Find the damped natural frequency fd of its free vibration in Hz.
A 10 kg mass hangs from two springs side by side (in parallel), with stiffnesses k₁ = 15 kN/m and k₂ = 100 kN/m. The mass stays level. Find the equivalent stiffness keq of the spring system in kN/m.
Answer: T1 = 149.2 N·m
Gear trains: meshing gears have the same speed at the teeth, so n₁·N₁ = n₂·N₂: the gear with fewer teeth turns faster. Gears on one shaft turn at the same speed. Power is passed on (minus losses), so torque goes up when speed goes down: T₂ = T₁·(N₂/N₁)·η, and P = T·ω with ω = 2π·n/60.
Answer: nout = 144 rpm
Gear trains: meshing gears have the same speed at the teeth, so n₁·N₁ = n₂·N₂: the gear with fewer teeth turns faster. Gears on one shaft turn at the same speed. Power is passed on (minus losses), so torque goes up when speed goes down: T₂ = T₁·(N₂/N₁)·η, and P = T·ω with ω = 2π·n/60.
total ratio = 6.667 : 1
Answer: φ = 2.137 °
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.
Answer: d = 55.21 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′ = −29.1 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: σvM = 105.4 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. Yield criteria: von Mises predicts yield when σvM = √(σ₁² − σ₁σ₂ + σ₂²) reaches σY; Tresca when the absolute maximum shear stress reaches σY/2.
Answer: P = 69.3 kN
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 = 111.4 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 = 50.23 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: σcr = 8.567 MPa
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: fd = 11.09 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 = 115 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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