DYNAMICS MECH 1120

EXAMPLE SHEET 8: Kinetics of rigid bodies

Unless otherwise stated, assume g = 9.81ms-2.

An electric motor drives a conveyor belt through a speed reducing gearbox which has a
9:1 ratio. The motor armature, together with its shaft and gear wheel has a moment of
inertia of 0.5 kgm2. The rotating drum on the conveyor belt has a moment of inertia of
40 kgm2. The conveyor belt friction results in a constant resisting torque of 100 Nm on
the drum and the efficiency of the gearbox is 95 %. The layout is shown below.

1. In steady state running, what power must the motor develop to drive the conveyor
belt drum at 160 rpm?

2. The torque developed by the motor armature when starting from rest is 30 Nm. What
time will it take, from rest, for the drum to reach a rotational speed of 60 rpm?

Hints:
1. Draw free body diagrams for the motor and drum.

2. The output torque from the gearbox is the product of the gear ratio, efficiency
and the input torque.

3. Write down a kinematic constraint equation for the gearbox

Answers: (1) Power developed by motor 1.765 kW, (2) Time taken from rest 3.14s