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 960 rpm drives a 200 mm pulley by a belt with 2 % slip. Find the speed n2 of the driven pulley.
In a compound gear train, gear A (15 teeth) on the input shaft turning at 3000 rpm drives gear B (40 teeth). Gear C (18 teeth) is fixed to the same shaft as B and drives gear D (50 teeth) on the output shaft. Find the output speed nout.
A stepped solid brass shaft is fixed at A. Segment AB has diameter 60 mm and length 0.8 m; segment BC has diameter 30 mm and length 0.5 m. A torque of 250 N·m acts at the free end C. Find the angle of twist φC of end C, in degrees.
A solid brass shaft of diameter 25 mm is fixed to rigid walls at both ends A and B. A torque of 750 N·m is applied at C, 2 m from A and 1 m from B. Find the angle of rotation φC of section C, in degrees.
A point has σₓ = 130 MPa, σᵧ = 110 MPa and τₓᵧ = 20 MPa (tension positive). The element is rotated 40° counter-clockwise. Find the normal stress σy′ on the faces of the rotated element that are perpendicular to the rotated y′-axis.
A solid shaft of diameter 60 mm carries an axial tensile force of 90 kN together with a torque of 1500 N·m. At the surface of the shaft, find the maximum in-plane shear stress τmax.
Find the elongation δ of the copper bar under the axial load.
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 aluminium is fixed at the base and pinned at the top. Using Euler’s formula, find its critical buckling load Pcr.
A solid round column of length L made of steel is fixed at both ends. It must carry 145 kN with a factor of safety of 2.5 against buckling. Find the smallest diameter d.
A 5 kg mass on a spring with a stiffness of 200 kN/m has a viscous damper giving a damping ratio of 0.6. Find the damped natural frequency fd of its free vibration in Hz.
A 40 kg mass hangs from two springs connected end to end (in series): the upper spring has k₁ = 50 kN/m and the lower one k₂ = 15 kN/m. Ignore damping and the masses of the springs. Find the natural frequency fn of vertical vibration in Hz.
Answer: n2 = 752.6 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: nout = 405 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 = 7.407 : 1
Answer: φC = 2.54 °
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: φC = 19.15 °
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. When both ends are fixed, statics alone gives only TA + TB = T₀; the second equation is compatibility (equal twist of both parts at the loaded section).
Use segment AC: it is fixed at A and carries TA.
Answer: σy′ = 98.57 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: τmax = 38.78 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 = 4.534 mm
Hooke’s law: within the elastic range σ = E·ε. Combining with σ = P/A and ε = δ/L gives δ = PL/(AE).
E for copper = 117 GPa = 117000 MPa.
Answer: σmax = 707.4 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 = 7.087 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 = 69.54 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 143.8, so the column is slender and Euler applies.
Answer: fd = 25.46 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: fn = 2.703 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.
Springs in series share the same force and add their deflections, so they combine as reciprocals: 1/k = 1/k1 + 1/k2.
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