ACCLERATION OF GEARED SYSTEM

Experiment No.
Date:

Aim:
To determine the equivalent mass moment of inertia of a system of shafts.

Apparatus Required:
1. Gear system.
2. Stop Watch.
3. Meter scale.
4. Different Masses.

Theory:

It can be shown that for a body, whose mass moment of

inertia is I, rotating about an axis O, then the torque T
required to produce an angular acceleration is given by
the equation
T= I

Consider two shafts A and B connected by gearing

as shown and consider the torque TA required at
shaft A to accelerate the system.
Torque required at shaft A to accelerate shaft A
=IAA
Torque required at shaft B to accelerate shaft B
=IBB
A
Let velocity ratio G
B

Then torque required at shaft A to accelerate shafts A and B

= IAA + IBB
= IAA +G IBGB
= A [IA +G IB]
or TA=I A where I=IA +G2IB
I is then the equivalent mass moment of inertia of the system referred to shaft A.
Consider three shafts A,B, and C connected by gearing as shown and consider the torque
required at shaft A to accelerate
the system.

A
Let velocity ratios G1
B
C
and G2
D

Then similarly

T A A [ I A G1 I B G1 G2 I C ]
2 2 2

Or
TA=IA where I=[IA+G12 IB+ G12G22 IC]

Consider three shafts A,B, and C

connected by gearing as shown and
consider the torque required at shaft B
to accelerate the system.

A
Let velocity ratios G1
B
C
and G2
D

Then similarly
TB B [ I B G1 I A G2 I C ]
2 2

or TB=IB where I=[IB+G12 IA+ G22 IC]

Method to determine the mass moment of inertia of a system.

Assuming the system starts from rest and neglecting the

kinetic energy gained by the falling mass.
mgx-mfgx=0.5I2
where I=effective mass moment of inertia of the
system
mf= mass required to rotate the system with uniform
angular velocity.i.e that required ti overcome bearing friction
= angular velocity of the system as mass m reaches
the datum

2(m m f ) gx
I
2
2 x where t= time for m to fall through

rt
distance x
(m m f ) gr 2t 2
I
2x

Alternatively .
Assuming that the torque producing the acceleratin of the system =(m-mf)gr
2x
Then (m-mf)gr=I but 2
rt
(m m f ) gr 2t 2
I
2x
For the experiments suggested, this assumption is considered acceptable provided that the
magnitude of the acceleration is relatively small.
 I (Kg m2)
Shaft Assembly
A 0.00011
B 0.0106
C 0.00015
Flywheel

Shaft Diameter (m) Mass (Kg) K2 (m2) I (kg m2)

A 0.160 2.34 0.00323 0.00756

B 0.120 1.31 0.00183 0.00188

C 0.200 3.69 0.00503 0.01856

Gears

No of Teeth Mass (Kg) K2 (m2) I (kg m2)

90 0.63 0.00258 0.00162

80 0.50 0.00204 0.00102

60 0.28 0.00116 0.000325

Torque Drum 50mm diameter

 Experimental Procedure.
For each of the experiments suggested
1. Determine a value of mf by adding loads to the load hanger until the system just
rotates with uniform angular velocity.
2. For a series of increasing loads, measure the tome for the load to fall through a
predetermined height. Note: It is suggested that x is approximately 400-500 mm and
the cord length is so arranged that the cord frees itself from the drum when the load
reaches the datum.
3. Plot a graph of m against 1/t2 and use the slope to estimate a value for moment of
inertia I.
 Experiment I

MASS TIME TAKEN 1/t2

TAKEN TO FALL
(gm) (sec)

Experiment II

MASS TIME TAKEN 1/t2

TAKEN TO FALL
(gm) (sec)

Experiment III

MASS TIME TAKEN 1/t2

TAKEN TO FALL
(gm) (sec)

Experiment IV

MASS TIME TAKEN 1/t2

TAKEN TO FALL
(gm) 1.5m (sec)

Results: