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 belt runs on a 125 mm driving pulley at 1450 rpm. The tension is 400 N on the tight side and 100 N on the slack side. Find the power P transmitted, in kW.
A 4 kW motor at 960 rpm drives gear A (12 teeth), which meshes with gear B (32 teeth). Gear C (12 teeth) on the same shaft as B drives gear D (32 teeth) on the output shaft. Each gear mesh has an efficiency of 95%. Find the output torque Tout.
A stepped solid aluminium shaft is fixed at A. Segment AB has diameter 50 mm and length 2.5 m; segment BC has diameter 30 mm and length 1 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 solid brass shaft of diameter 20 mm is fixed to rigid walls at both ends A and B. A torque of 100 N·m is applied at C, 0.5 m from A and 1 m from B. Find the maximum shear stress τmax in the shaft.
A point in a loaded part has σₓ = 40 MPa, σᵧ = −30 MPa and τₓᵧ = −20 MPa (tension positive). Find the angle θp from the x-axis to the direction of the largest principal stress, between −90° and 90°.
A thin-walled cylindrical tank of inner diameter 1000 mm and wall thickness 5 mm holds gas at a gauge pressure of 1.2 MPa. It is made from plate welded along a helical seam at 50° to the axis of the cylinder. Find the magnitude of the shear stress |τn| acting along the weld seam.
A steel rod (diameter 40 mm, E = 200 GPa) sits inside a tube made of aluminium (outer diameter 100 mm, inner diameter 50 mm, E = 70 GPa). Both are 500 mm long and are compressed together between rigid plates by 50 kN. Find the shortening δ.
A steel segment (diameter 20 mm, length 600 mm, E = 200 GPa) and a segment made of copper (diameter 50 mm, length 200 mm, E = 120 GPa) are joined end to end and fixed between two rigid walls. An axial load of 100 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 pinned at the top. Using Euler’s formula, find its critical buckling load Pcr.
A column of length L made of aluminium is pinned at both ends. Find its slenderness and the critical buckling stress σcr from Euler’s formula.
A 20 kg mass on a spring with a stiffness of 20 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 5 kg mass hangs from two springs side by side (in parallel), with stiffnesses k₁ = 15 kN/m and k₂ = 15 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: P = 2.847 kW
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: Tout = 255.4 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 = 7.338 °
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 = 42.44 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. 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).
The larger of the two torques governs (same diameter).
Answer: θp = −14.87 °
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.
Point x sits at an angle 2θp from the σ-axis on Mohr’s circle; the quadrant follows from the signs of σₓ − σᵧ and τₓᵧ.
Positive angles are counter-clockwise.
Answer: |τn| = 29.54 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 = 0.03767 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: σ2 = 46.77 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 = 68.75 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 rectangle buckles about its weak axis, using the smaller dimension cubed.
Answer: σcr = 30.71 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 = 4.801 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 = 12.33 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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