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 3 kW motor at 1440 rpm drives a worm with 4 start(s). The worm wheel has 45 teeth and the drive has an efficiency of 75%. Find the output torque Tw on the wheel shaft.
A 7.5 kW motor at 960 rpm drives gear A (12 teeth), which meshes with gear B (30 teeth). Gear C (20 teeth) on the same shaft as B drives gear D (45 teeth) on the output shaft. Each gear mesh has an efficiency of 98%. Find the output torque Tout.
A stepped solid steel shaft is fixed at A. Segment AB has diameter 40 mm and length 1.5 m; segment BC has diameter 20 mm and length 2.5 m. A torque of 200 N·m acts at the free end C. Find the angle of twist φC of end C, in degrees.
A hollow shaft transmits 75 kW at 300 rpm. Find the maximum shear stress τmax in the shaft.
A point in a loaded part has σₓ = 90 MPa, σᵧ = 40 MPa and τₓᵧ = −50 MPa (tension positive). Find the maximum in-plane shear stress τmax.
A thin-walled cylindrical tank of inner diameter 1000 mm and wall thickness 8 mm holds gas at a gauge pressure of 1.5 MPa. It is made from plate welded along a helical seam at 35° to the axis of the cylinder. Find the magnitude of the shear stress |τn| acting along the weld seam.
A steel rod (diameter 25 mm, E = 200 GPa) sits inside a tube made of aluminium (outer diameter 80 mm, inner diameter 50 mm, E = 70 GPa). Both are 600 mm long and are compressed together between rigid plates by 150 kN. Find the shortening δ.
The stepped bar is fixed at the wall and loaded at its free end. Find the total elongation δ.
A column of length L made of aluminium is fixed at the base and free at the top. 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 100 kg mass on a spring with a stiffness of 20 kN/m has a viscous damper giving a damping ratio of 0.5. Find the damped natural frequency fd of its free vibration in Hz.
A 40 kg mass hangs from two springs side by side (in parallel), with stiffnesses k₁ = 80 kN/m and k₂ = 60 kN/m. The mass stays level. Ignore damping and the masses of the springs. Find the natural frequency fn of vertical vibration in Hz.
Answer: Tw = 167.9 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: Tout = 403 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: φC = 23.65 °
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: τmax = 33.11 MPa
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: τmax = 55.9 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: |τn| = 22.02 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. Thin-walled cylinder: hoop stress σh = pr/t and axial stress σa = pr/(2t); these are the principal stresses in the wall.
Take x along the axis (σa) and y around the hoop (σh). The seam’s normal makes 90° − α with the axis.
Answer: δ = 0.2879 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: δ = 2.586 mm
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.
Answer: Pcr = 6.867 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 = 87.73 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 = 1.949 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 = 9.416 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 side by side share the deflection and add their forces, so their stiffnesses simply add: k = k1 + k2.
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