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 0.75 kW motor running at 2900 rpm drives a pinion with 16 teeth, which meshes with a gear with 24 teeth. The gear pair has an efficiency of 97%. Find the output torque T2 on the gear shaft.
In a compound gear train, gear A (15 teeth) on the input shaft turning at 1500 rpm drives gear B (40 teeth). Gear C (20 teeth) is fixed to the same shaft as B and drives gear D (48 teeth) on the output shaft. Find the output speed nout.
A solid brass 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 hollow shaft must transmit 50 kW at 3000 rpm. Its inner diameter is to be 0.6 times its outer diameter, and the shear stress must not exceed 50 MPa. Find the smallest outer diameter do.
A point has σₓ = 70 MPa, σᵧ = 20 MPa and τₓᵧ = −30 MPa (tension positive). Find the angle θs, between −90° and 90°, from the x-axis to the normal of the plane on which the shear stress has its maximum positive value +R (shear positive in the same sense as τₓᵧ).
A point in a loaded part has σₓ = −10 MPa, σᵧ = −80 MPa and τₓᵧ = 40 MPa (tension positive). Find the shear stress τθ on a plane whose normal is rotated 25° counter-clockwise from the x-axis (positive in the same sense as τₓᵧ).
Find the axial strain ε in the copper bar, in microstrain (µε = 10⁻⁶).
A steel segment (diameter 30 mm, length 300 mm, E = 200 GPa) and a segment made of brass (diameter 50 mm, length 500 mm, E = 100 GPa) are joined end to end and fixed between two rigid walls. An axial load of 40 kN acts at the joint, towards segment 2. Find the magnitude of the stress σ2 in segment 2.
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 steel is fixed at the base and pinned at the top. It must carry 25 kN with a factor of safety of 2 against buckling. Find the smallest diameter d.
A 2 kg mass is supported by a spring with a stiffness of 8 kN/m and a viscous damper with a damping coefficient of 100 N·s/m. Find the damping ratio ζ.
A 25 kg mass hangs from spring k₃ = 80 kN/m. The top of k₃ is attached to a rigid bar that hangs from two springs side by side, k₁ = 25 kN/m and k₂ = 25 kN/m; the bar stays level. Ignore damping and the masses of the springs and bar. Find the natural frequency fn of vertical vibration in Hz.
Answer: T2 = 3.593 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 = 234.4 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 = 6.4 : 1
Answer: φ = 18.71 °
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: do = 26.51 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.
A solid shaft would need d = 25.31 mm; the hollow one is a little larger but much lighter.
Answer: θs = −70.1 °
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.
On Mohr’s circle the top point (+R) is 90° from the principal point σ₁; on the element that is 45°.
Positive angles are counter-clockwise.
Answer: τθ = −1.1 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.
Answer: ε = 2976 µε
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: σ2 = 9.26 MPa
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: Pcr = 3.876 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 = 38.84 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 216.3, so the column is slender and Euler applies.
Answer: ζ = 0.3953
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.
ζ < 1, so the system is underdamped and oscillates as it decays.
Answer: fn = 5.584 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.
Only k1 and k2 are in parallel. That pair is in series with k3, so combine them as reciprocals.
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