Problem 1

An electric motor drives a piece of machinery through a two stage compound reduction gear where the
reduction at each stage is 3:1. If the inertia of the motor armature and the driving gear is 0.05 kgm 2 and the
intermediate shaft containing the compounded pair is 0.1 kgm 2. The load, output gear and its shaft have an
equivalent inertia of 1 kgm2 referred to the output shaft. It takes two seconds for the motor to accelerate
from rest to its running speed of 2700 rev/min, calculate the motor starting torque assuming that it is
constant

(10.4 Nm)

Problem 2
Three gears, A, B and C, form a simple train and have 50, 100, and 150 teeth respectively. Gear A is the
driver and is supplied with a constant torque of 65 Nm. Gear C experiences a constant resisting torque of
100 Nm. If the efficiency at each mesh is 90%, determine the time that it takes to accelerate gear A
uniformly from rest to 1000 rev/min given that I A, IB and IC are 0.1, 0.3 and 0.6 kgm2 respectively.

(1.167 s)

Problem 3
A double reduction gear shown in Figure 1 has a ratio at each stage of 3.5:1 and a
stage transmission efficiency of 96%. Find the input torque to raise the output speed
uniformly from rest to 40 rev/min in 0.5 seconds against a constant load torque of
80 Nm. The moments of inertia of the input, compound and output gears are 0.002, Input

0.16 and 0.2 kgm2 respectively. Out

(8.84 Nm)
Figure 1

Problem 4
Find the acceleration of the mass m=100 kg in Figure 2 if it is allowed to fall freely under gravity and the
geared system is 100% efficient. The moments of inertia of each shaft are I A=1.0, I(B+C)=1.25, ID=0.75 and
IE=0.5 kgm2 and the number of teeth on wheels A, B, C, D and E are 150, 75, 150, 100 and 50 respectively.

(0.31 m/s2)

C A Drum, d=200 mm
D
E

m -?

Figure 2
Problem 5
An electrically driven road vehicle of mass 450 kg has four wheels each with an effective rolling diameter of
400 mm, mass of 12 kg and radius of gyration of 125 mm. The motor armature has a mass of 65 kg, a radius
of gyration of 100 mm and rotates at four times the speed of the road wheels. If the rolling resistance to
motion is a constant 225 N determine the acceleration of the vehicle if it is allowed to roll freely down a
slope inclined at sin-10.2 to horizontal.

(0.9 m/s2)

Problem 6
Two gears A and B are in mesh, A being the driver and B the driven. If A rotates at G times the speed of B
and a constant torque is applied to A, show that for maximum angular acceleration of B the speed ratio G is

equal to
√ IB
IA
given that IA and IB are the inertias associated with shafts A and B and there are no

transmission losses. Show the effect on the expression for the speed ratio G if a transmission efficiency is
introduced.

(G=
√ ηI B
IA
)

Problem 7
A short heavy shaft is being turned in a lathe which is driven by a motor developing 2.25kW at
1400 rev/min, the reduction between the motor and the lathe spindle being 10:1. The friction torque at the
lathe spindle is 17.5 Nm. The moment of inertia of the motor rotor is 0.08 kgm 2, the spindle, face plate and
component being turned is 1.2 kgm 2 and the gear box, between the motor and spindle, has negligible
inertia. If the turning tool is suddenly give an excessively heavy cut which stops the lathe spindle in one
revolution, calculate the force on the tip of the tool if it is cutting at a radius of 140 mm. Assume the cutting
force and the motor torque are constant during the deceleration period.

(2.09 kN)
Solution 1
IM = 0.05 kgm2
IC = 0.1kgm2
IL = 1kgm2
n2 1 = n32 = 1/3
Motor Load
Motor shaft: 0 = 0 rev/min, 1 = 2700 rev/min, t = 2s
TM n21 -?
n32

Angular acceleration of the motor M:

ω 1=ω 0+ α M t

ω1−ω 0 2700∗2 π /60 – 0 2

αM= = =141.3 rad /s
t 2

Equivalent moment of inertia of the system referred to the motor I EQ (M ) :

2 2 2
I C n21 I L n21 n32
I EQ (M) =I M + +
η21 η 21 η32

( )+ ( )( )
2 2 2
1 1 1
0.1 1
3 3 3 1 1 2
I EQ (M ) =0.05+ =0.05+ + =0.0734 kg m
1 1∗1 90 81

Newton’s 2nd law for the motor shaft:

T M =I EQ( M ) α M =0.0734∗141.3=10.37 Nm
Solution 2
TR=100Nm – resisting torque applied to gear C
TA=65Nm – accelerating torque applied to gear A
C
IA B = 0.1 kgm2
A 
IB  = 0.3 kgm2
IC = 0.6 kgm2
TA TR  
A B BC

Gaer A: rev/min
t tA=50 -?
tB=100
tC=150

Equivalent moment of inertia of the system referred to shaft A:

( ) ( )( )
2 2 2
tA tA tB
IB IC
I B n2BA I C n 2BA n2CB tB tB tC
I EQ (A ) =I A + + =I A + +
η AB η AB ηBC η AB η AB η BC

( ) ( )( )
2 2 2
50 50 100
0.3 0.6
100 100 150 2
I EQ (M) =0.1+ + =0.265 kg m
0.9 0.9∗0.9

Resisting torque TR(A) referred to shaft A:

tB t A 100 50
T R (C) nCB n BA tC tB 150 100
T R ( A) = =T R (C) =100 Nm =41.5 Nm
η AB ηBC η AB η BC 0.9∗0.9

Newton’s 2nd law applied to shaft A can be used to calculate angular acceleration of shaft A:

I EQ ( A ) α A=T A −T R ( A )

T A−T R ( A ) 65−41.5 rad

α A= = =88.68 2
I EQ ( A ) 0.265 s

Time to accelerate the motor from the rest till angular speed ω 1 can be found from the equation:

ω 1=ω 0+ α M t

1000∗2 π
−0
ω1−ω0 60
t= = =1.18 s
αM 88.68
Solution 3
n = nAB = nCD = 1/3.5 = 2/7
B

C
Gear D: 0 = 0, 1 = 40 rpm, t = 0.5 s
IA = 0.002 kgm2IBC = 0.16, ID = 0.2 kgm2

TA  Find accelerating torque TA if resisting torque TR applied to shaft D equals to 80
Nm.
TR
A
D

1) Find transmission ratio between output and input shafts n DA:

2
∗2
7 4
n DA =nBA∗n DC = =
7 49
2) Find angular acceleration of shaft D:
ω ( t )=ω 0 +α ∆ t

2π
( 40−0 )
ω1 D−ω 0 D 60 rad
α D= = =8.37
∆t ∆t s
2

3) Angular acceleration of shaft A:

α D 8.37 rad
α A= = =102.57 2
n DA 4 s
49
4) Equivalent moment of inertia of the system referred to shaft A:

() ( )( )
2 2 2
2 2 2
2 2 2
nBA nBA n DC 7 7 7 2
I EQ ( A ) =I A + I BC +ID =0.002+0.16 +0.2 =0.0171 kg m
η ηη 0.96 0.96 0.96
5) Resisting torque referred to shaft A:
4
n 49
T R ( A) =T R DA =80 =7.09 Nm
ηη 0.96 0.96
6) Newton’s 2nd law equation for shaft A can be written as follows:

T A−T R ( A )=I EQ ( A) α A

Using equivalent moment of inertia of I EQ (A ) (item 4) and angular acceleration α A (item 3) the
accelerating torque can be found:

T A=I EQ( A ) α A +T R ( A )=0.0171∗102.57 +7.09=8.84 Nm

 C A
T d=200mm Solution 4
D
E

I A = 1.0 kgm2, IBC = 1.25 kgm2
B
I D = 0.75 kgm2, IE = 0.5 kgm2
FT
t A = 150, tB = 75, tC = 150, tD = 100, tE = 50
FT
m = 100 kg, d = 200 mm

m -? a-?

mg

1) Newton’s 2nd law for mass m:

ma=mg−FT

where F T – the cord tension.

2) Newton’s 2nd law for the equivalent system referred to shaft A:

α A I EQ (A )=T

3) Accelerating torque T created by force FT at shaft A:

d
T = FT
2
4) Angular acceleration α A of shaft A is related to translational acceleration of mass m as follows:
d
a= α A
2

The above four equations forms a system with four unknown values: α A , a , T , FT .

To find translational acceleration of mass m one can exclude α A from equations 2) and 4)

2a
I =T
d EQ (A )
Taking into account equation 3) the above equation can be written as

2a d 4a
I = F or I
2 EQ (A )
=F T
d EQ (A ) 2 T d

Substituting FT in equation 1) one can find translational acceleration of mass m:

4a
ma=mg− I EQ ( A )
d2
or
g
a=
4
1+ I
2 EQ ( A )
md
Angular acceleration α A , accelerating torque T , cord tension F T can be found from equations 1-4 using the
similar technique.

Equivalent moment of inertia of shaft A:

2 2 2 2 2 2
I EQ =I A + I BC n BA + I CD n BA nDC + I E n BA n DC n ED

( ) ( ) (
tA 2 t A tC 2
)
2
tA tC tD
I EQ =I A + I BC + I CD + IE
tB tB tD tB tD tE

( ) ( ) ( )
2 2 2
150 150 150 150 150 100 2
I EQ =1.0+1.25 +0.75 +IE =30.75 kg m
75 75 100 75 100 50
Acceleration of mass m

9.8 m
a= =0.31 2
30.75 s
1+ 2
100∗0.1
Solution 5

n=4
T=Fi r
EMA
FR=225N Wheels
b)
Fi
Fi
m
M
Fi
mw
 
Mg sin
FR


a)  Mg
Figure 5

c)

M=450 kg, dw=400 mm, n=4, FR=225 N, =sin-10.2, a-?

mw=12 kg, rgw=125 mm → moment of inertia of a single wheel Iw = mwrgw2
mM=65 kg, rgM=100 mm → moment of inertia of the motor armature I EMA = mMrgM2

Forces acting on the vehicle:

1. Gravity – Mg
2. Rolling resistance FR
3. Force due to inertia of the rotating parts of the electric motor armature (EMA) and the wheels F i.
If the vehicle moves forward without slipping with translational acceleration a, then the wheels rotate with
angular acceleration a/Rw and the EMA parts rotate with angular acceleration nThis angular
acceleration is produced by the torque T acting at the wheel axle. This torque is produced by friction
force between the wheels and the road surface. All rotating parts of the vehicle can be represented as a
system of two flywheels (EMA and the road wheels) connected together with transmission ratio n as shown
on Figure 5b. Equivalent moment of inertia of such a system referred to the road wheels axle can be
calculates as
2
I EQ ( W )=4 I W + I EMA n

I EQ ( W )=4∗12∗0.1252+ 65∗0.12∗4 2=11.15 kg m 2

Dynamics of the rotating parts can be described by Newton’s 2 nd law referred to the road wheels axle:
α I EQ (W )=T =Fi r ,

1
where r = d w - radius of the road wheel. Using the equation above the resisting force due to inertia of
2
rotating parts Fi can be found:
α
F i= I EQ (W ) .
r
Dynamics of translational motion of the vehicle can be described by Newton’s 2 nd law and projecting all the
forces onto axis parallel to the surface:

Ma=Mg sin β−F R −Fi .

Using the equation for Fi and relation for translational and angular accelerations of the road wheel a=rα
the equation for forces can be written as follows:
I EQ (W )
Ma=Mg sin β−F R −a 2
.
r
Solving this equation acceleration a can be found
Mg sin β−F R 450∗9.8∗0.2−225
a= = =0.9 m/ s
I EQ ( W ) 11.15
M+ 2 450+ 2
r 0.2
Solution 6

A B Show that angular acceleration of shaft B is maximum when


IA

A
IB transmission ratio G=
√ η IB
IA
.

B
To calculate angular acceleration B of gear B Newton’s 2nd law
TA equation for torques can be written for shaft B:
TB, B
I EQ (B) α B =T B ,

where TB – torque at shaft B, IEQ(B) – equivalent moment of inertia of the system referred to shaft B.

To recalculate torque TA from shaft A to shaft B energy conservation law can be used. Power at input shaft
A and at output shaft B must be the same if there are no losses otherwise efficiency coefficient should be
taken into account:
η T A ω A =T B ω B
Taking into account that B = GA torque at shaft B can be found as follows:
η T A ωA
T B= =η T A G
ωB
Equivalent moment of inertia of the system referred to shaft B equals to

G2
I EQ (B) =I B + I A
η
Substituting TB and IEQ(B) in the Newton’s 2nd law one can find that
angular acceleration of shaft B is a function of transmission ratio G
ηTAG
α B ( G )= 2
G
I B+ I A
B

η
To find Gmax which provides maximum acceleration the following
conditions for the first and second derivatives must be satisfied at
2
d d
point Gmax: α ( G )=0 and α ( G max ) <0 . 0

G
dG B max 2
dG B
First derivative:

G2
η( I ¿ ¿ B+ I A )−2G2 I A

( )
2
d αB d ηTAG η ηI B−G I A
= =T A =T A =0 ¿
dG dG
( ) ( )
2 2 2
G G2 G2
I B+ I A I B+ I A I B+ I A
η η η
Consequently, for the min or max of function α B (G) transmission ratio G can be found from the equation
2 ηI B
ηI B −G0 I A =0 which results in G 0=
IA √
. To prove that the found G0 provides maximum rather than

minimum angular acceleration second derivative of the function α B (G) at G=G0 must be negative.
Solution 7

Find the angular acceleration of the spindle when the system is being stopped due to excessively heavy
TR=17.5Nm R=140mm cut:
I=1.2kgm2

IM = 0.08 kgm2   Δ ωS
α S= <0
PM= 2.25 kW Δt
S
n=10 Where Δ t is the time taken by the spindle to
Motor change its angular speed from initial ω S to
F-?
zero.
M= 1400
rpm During this time Δ t the lathe spindle turns on
2
Δt
the angle ϕ =ω S Δt−α .
2

Excluding Δ t from these two equation one can find that

( )
2
ωS
Δt
2
ω αS ω 2s
ϕ =ω S Δt−α S =ω S S −α S =
2 αS 2 2 αS

Taking into account that one spindle turn corresponds to turn on the angle =360 deg or =2 π rad and that
1
the angular speed of the spindle ω S is of the motor speed ω M angular acceleration of the spindle is:
10

ωM 2
( ) ( )
2
1400 2 π
2
ωs n 10 60 rad
α S= = = =−17.1 2
2ϕ 22π 4π s

The force F on the tip of the cutting tool creates the torque T f =FR which slows down the spindle together
with the resisting torque TR. The motor creates accelerating torque on the spindle shaft
PM
T MS =T M n= n . The equivalent moment of inertia of the system referred to the spindle is
ωM
I EQ (S) =I SP+ I M n 2=1.2+0.08∗102=9.2 kg m2. Taking these into account one can possible to wright down
Newton’s 2nd law for the motion of the spindle

PM
I EQ (S) α S=+ T MS−T f −T R = n−FR−T R
ωM

which can be used to find F.

F=
(
1 PM
R ωM )
n−T R −I EQ ( S ) α S =¿

( )
1 2250 W 2 rad
10−17.5 Nm−9.2 kg m (−17.1 2 ) =2.09 kN
0.14 m 1400 2 π s
60
Problem 8
In an epicyclic gear train the sun gear has 40 teeth and is fixed. The annulus has 100 teeth and rotates at
700 rev/min. The planet carrier has an output shaft concentric with the sun gear and carries three planet
wheels, each with a mass of 0.5 kg and whose centres are on 100 mm pitch circle diameter. The moments
of inertia of the annulus, a planet gear and the planet carrier are 4.810-3, 0.1510-3 and 2.410-3 respectively.
Calculate the rotational speed of each planet and the planet carrier about their axes of rotation and find
the torque required at the annulus to give it an acceleration of 50 rad/s 2.

(667 rev/min, 500 rev/min, 0.5 Nm)