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 5.5 kW motor running at 1500 rpm drives a pinion with 45 teeth, which meshes with a gear with 48 teeth. The gear pair has an efficiency of 95%. Find the output torque T2 on the gear shaft.
In a compound gear train, gear A (24 teeth) on the input shaft turns at 1450 rpm and drives gear B (60 teeth). Gear C (16 teeth) is fixed to the same shaft as B and drives gear D on the output shaft. The output must turn at 116 rpm. How many teeth ND must gear D have?
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 hollow shaft must transmit 75 kW at 300 rpm. Its inner diameter is to be 0.75 times its outer diameter, and the shear stress must not exceed 75 MPa. Find the smallest outer diameter do.
A point in a thin plate is in plane stress: σₓ = 150 MPa, σᵧ = −70 MPa and τₓᵧ = 20 MPa, with σz = 0. Find the absolute maximum shear stress τabs at the point (considering all planes in three dimensions).
A solid shaft of diameter 40 mm carries an axial tensile force of 160 kN together with a torque of 1000 N·m. At the surface of the shaft, find the maximum in-plane shear stress τmax.
Find the elongation δ of the steel bar under the axial load.
A steel rod (diameter 25 mm, E = 200 GPa, allowable stress 160 MPa) sits inside a tube made of aluminium (outer diameter 100 mm, inner diameter 70 mm, E = 70 GPa, allowable stress 70 MPa). They are compressed together between rigid plates. Find the largest load Pmax.
A column of length L made of steel is pinned at both ends. 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 5 kN with a factor of safety of 2 against buckling. Find the smallest diameter d.
In a free-vibration test of a damped mass–spring system, a displacement peak of 50 mm is followed 4 cycles later by a peak of 4 mm. Find the damping ratio ζ.
A 20 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 = 12 kN/m. Find the equivalent stiffness keq of the spring system in kN/m.
Answer: T2 = 35.48 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: ND = 80
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: φ = 5.699 °
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 = 61.9 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 = 54.53 mm; the hollow one is a little larger but much lighter.
Answer: τabs = 111.8 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. In three dimensions the absolute maximum shear stress is (σmax − σmin)/2 over all three principal stresses; in plane stress the third one is zero.
Here σ₁ and σ₂ have opposite signs, so the in-plane maximum R is also the absolute maximum.
Answer: τmax = 101.9 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: δ = 3.82 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 steel = 200 GPa = 200000 MPa.
Answer: Pmax = 302.8 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: Pcr = 158.8 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 = 25.97 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 323.4, so the column is slender and Euler applies.
Answer: ζ = 0.09999
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 = 9.677 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 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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