Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences (JETEAS) 3(6):1005-1008(ISSN: 2141-7016)

1005


Development of an Epicycli c Gear Transmission
Laboratory Dynamometer

1
Adisa A.F. and
2
Inns F. M

1
Department of Agricultural Engineering,
University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
2
Cranfield Institute of Technology, Silsoe College, Bedford, U.K.
Corresponding Author:

Adisa A.F

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Abstract
Measuring power transmission for machines with low power consumption require accurate measuring device
where it speed can be varied from low to high and very little power is allowed to be absorbed by the
dynamometer (torquemeter). When local production of power measuring device was required, an epicyclic gear
transmission laboratory dynamometer was designed, developed and tested with prony brake on a small capacity
rice dehusking machine with source of power from an electric motor. Transmission efficiency between the
epicyclic dynamometer and prony brake was found to be 92% while that from electric motor to prony brake was
found to be 83%. The dynamometer absorbed 4 watts (6%) out of 69 watts required to drive the rice dehusker.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Keywords: epicyclic, laboratory dynamometer, prony brake, dehusker.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
Many types of dynamometers or torquemeters have
been designed to measure power input, output in
machine and other moving parts ranging from simple
to sophisticated types. Each one has their merits and
demerits under different operational conditions and
arrangements. Example is the use of Manarp
oscillograph strain guage to measure the power
supplied by pedalling that is non uniform torque input
which hence causes high vibration and fluctuation in
output readings. When electricity supplied the input
power, the vibration and fluctuation was reduced.
The hydraulic torquemeter developed by Nelson
(1977) performed satisfactorily at the time it was
newly produced at Cranfield Institute of
Technology,Silsoe, England. But when it was later
used by Razaq (1981) it absorbed 34 watts (14%) out
of the 237 watts power input because its original
designed pressure has dropped from 88.90KN/m
2
to
41.40KN/m
2
with time. Therefore, the operating
performance of this hydraulic torquemeter was
declared unsatisfactory because high percentage
(14%) of power supplied was absorbed in the
torquemeter. This is usually the problem associated
with abandoning of agricultural machinery prototypes
as observed by Ukatu (2006).

These two types of power measuring devices were
the only instruments available at Cranfield Institute
of Technology, Silsoe, England, 1987 to assess the
power consumption of a small paddy rice dehusker.
At this time they were not giving satisfactory
readings. As a result of the bad states of the existing
power measuring devices, there was need to produce
a simple and cheap laboratory dynamometer , using a
bicycle epicyclic gear transmission and prony brake,
(Adisa, 1987). This was also reproduced at Federal
University of Technology Minna. Currently, an
improved one is being produced at University of
Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria in 1991 for
agricultural machinery power measurement in the
laboratory.

METHODOLOGY
Design Approach
A dynamometer was designed using a bicycle
epicyclic gear of sturmey Archer hub type. This gear
was chosen because of the advantages of free running
(under the designed condition, the power loss should
be small), appropriate load capacity for this
application, availability, easy adaptation and other
conventional epicyclic advantages (Compact,
Colinear input and Output shafts etc.). The sturmey
Archer hub has four gear ratios out of which 1:1.3,
1:1 and 1:3 were selected for this study. The variable
gear selection made it possible to use the torquemeter
for power measurement of other machines with
variable speeds.

Two sprockets of 1.27cm (0.50 inch) pitch were fixed
to the hub, one with 18 teeth at the gear assembly
power input side and 24 teeth at the output side. Y-
ball bearings (SKF Bearing, 1981) were fixed to this
hub shaft end on which the dynamometer was
mounted on the main frame. The torquemeter arm
was fixed to the main frame. The torquemeter arm is
needed to measure the reaction on the central shaft at
power input side of the dynamometer with 100
Newton spring balance capacity attached to the free
end of the arm (Figure 1). An idler was incorporated
Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences (JETEAS) 3(6): 1005-1008
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Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences (JETEAS) 3(6):1005-1008(ISSN: 2141-7016)
1006

to transmit power from the electric motor through
belt and pulley to the dynamometer by chain and
sprocket assembly. In order to achieve a smooth
power supply to the dynamometer and to limit the
effects of vibration on the dynamometer reading, a
1.10KW electric motor was used to supply the power.
The power supplied by the motor was a function of
the motor speed and characteristic curve directly.
This can then be related to that transmitted through
the dynamometer and absorbed by the prony brake.
Figure 2 shows the assembly of belt and chains for
the idler, torquemeter, machine and Electric Motor
layout.

Figure 1: Torquemeter Assembly on the Machine

Figure 2: Belt and Chains Layout for the Idler,
Torquemeter and Machine

The prony brake is to load the dynamometer for
testing power transmission efficiency. This is
considered appropriate for the first testing exercise
because the rubber rollers cannot be fed efficiently at
high feeding rate without some of the test materials
spilling away from the rollers undehusked. See
figures 3 and 4 for the prony brake assembly and
chain layout at the prony brake side respectively.


Figure 3: Prony Break Assembly

Figure 4: Chain Layout on the Prony Break Side
Dynamometer Testing

The developed dynamometer for power transmission
was tested at three positions using a rubber roller
paddy rice dehusking machine. This is to monitor the
power input by the electric motor at different speeds,
the power transmitted by the torquemeter from the
electric motor to the machine and the power output
from the machine on the prony brake.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Electric Motor Power Supplied
A 3 phase electric motor of 1.10 KW power rating
1420rpm was used
Power supplied for each rev./minute drop is
determined using the formula:
2 1
1
n n
P
P

(1)
(Kurma and Gupta, 2008).
Where:
At idle motor speed, n
1
=1500 rpm
At full load, motor speed, n
2
=1420 rpm
Corresponding power at full load, p =1.10Kw
Elevation

Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences (JETEAS) 3(6):1005-1008(ISSN: 2141-7016)
1007

Power supplied for each rev./min. drop, p
1 =
13.75
w/rev

From column two in Table 1 using equation (1) the
power supplied by the electric motor at 1500 rev/min
( idle speed) 1494 rev./min, was 83 watts.
In the same way the rest of the results for power
supplied were calculated.

Dynamometer (Torquemeter) power transmitted
The axle torque was resisted by the hub which is the
torquemeter power to be measured. Under ideal
condition, there was no power loss. Figure 5 shows
forces and speeds of sprockets and shaft on the
torquemeter.

















Fig. 5: Forces and speeds on Sprockets and shaft of
epicyclic gear

Power transmitted by sprocket is expressed using the
equation:
T
ss
=
s
s h
h a
T

) (

(2) (Green wood, 1962).

Where: T
s
=Sprocket torque at input, Nm

s

=Speed of sprocket at input, rad/s

T
h
=hub and output sprocket torgue, Nm
h
=speed of hub and output sprocket, rad/s
T
a
=torque of axle, Nm
a
=speed of axle, rad/s
T
a
=F x r (3) where F is force reading on the
torquemeter spring balance (N)
r =torquemeter arm, (m).
From testing result,
h
=92.32 rad/s

s
=68.14 rad/s
F =3N
r =0.10m.
Hence power transmitted
s s
T = 78 watts from
equation (2). In the same way the rest of the results
for torquemeter power transmitted were calculated.

Prony Brake Power
Output power on the prony brake was calculated
using the formula:
2
60
n
Fr P (4) (Kepner et al, 2005)
where P =Power on the prony brake, output power,
W
T =prony brake torque, Nm
r =prony brake torque arm, m
n =speed of prony brake drum, rpm
=angular speed of prony brake, rad/s
F =force on the prony brake spring balance N.
From test result, F = 2N, r = 0.285m, n = 1008
rev./min.

Hence prony brake power P =60 watts from equation
(4).

The rest of the prony brake power results were
determined in the same way.

Electric Motor and Dynamometer Power
Transmission Efficiency
The results obtained from the prony brake power
applied, dynamometer power transmitted and electric
motor power supplied as sumarised in Table 1, which
were plotted as graphs in figure 6 using the best fit
method. Except for the electric motor curve near the
origin, the results obtained from the test as shown
was linear. Using figure 6, the amount of power loss
between electric motor and prony brake during
transmission at point x was determined as shown on
the graph to be:

Prony brake output power x 100 =83%
Electric motor input power

Hence 83% of power supplied by the electric motor
was available for paddy rice dehusking while 17%
was lost in the transmission from the electric motor
via the dynamometer to the machine and prony brake.
Also the transmission efficiency after the
dynamometer at point x was determined as shown
below:
Transmission efficiency =
Prony brake output power x 100 =92%
Dynamometer power transmitted

that is, 92% of the power transmitted from the
dynamometer was available for the paddy rice
dehusking process. 8% was lost between the
dynamometer to the machine and prony brake.

From table 1 column one, when the machine was run
at idle, the power supplied by the electric motor was
69 watts and that transmitted by the dynamometer
was 65 watts, that is, the dynamometer absorbed 4
watts. Hence, maximum power of 69 watts was
needed to run the machine without load. The 4 watts
T
h
,
h
T
s
,
s

T
a
,
a


Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences (JETEAS) 3(6):1005-1008(ISSN: 2141-7016)
1008

(6%) absorbed by this dynamometer was far less than
the 34 watts (14%) absorbed by Nelsons hydraulic
torquemeter in measuring power transmission of the
same prototype rubber roller dehusker.

CONCLUSION
The results obtained from this power demand
analysis, easily confirmed that the new epicyclic gear
dynamometer developed measured the power and the
transmission at 92% efficiency. Also the power
supplied by the electric motor which was calculated
from the speed drop directly was in good relationship
with that of the dynamometer and prony brake
results. With the aid of the dynamometer, the power
required to drive the transmission (chains, sprockets
and bearings) and machine rollers when not
dehusking was found to be 69 watts out of which 65
watts was transmitted to carry out the rice dehusking
operation and 4 watts absorbed by the dynamometer
driving system. This showed a marked improvement
when compared with other power measuring devices
that can be constructed locally.


Table 1: Torque meter Test Result
No Load on
the machine
Loaded by the prony brake
Loaded by
grain alone
Electric motor speed (rev/min) 1495 1494 1490 1486 1482 1480 1470 1456 1492
Torquemeter
Output sprocket speed
(rev/min)
652 651 650 648 646 645 641 635 650
Torquemeter output sprocket
speed (rev/min)
883 882 878 867 859 858 852 845 879
Brake drum (fastroll) speed
(rev/min)
1009 1008 1003 991 982 981 974 965 1004
Torquemeter spring balance
force (N)
2.5 3 5 7 9 10 15 20 4
Prony brake spring balance (N) 0 2 4 6 7 8 13 17 0
Prony brake power
(w)
0 60 118 175 203 232 374 484 0
Torquemeter power (w) 65 78 131 189 246 273 408 537 105
Electric motor power (w) 69 83 138 193 248 275 413 605 110


Figure 6: Power transmission efficiencies for the
electric motor and torquemeter

REFERENCES
Adisa A.F. 1987. Assessment of the Power Demand
of a Small Capacity Rubber College, England.

Greenwood D.C. 1962. Mechanical Power
Transmission, MC Graw-Hill, New York.

Kepner, R. A., Bainer, R. and Barger, E.L. 2005.
Principle of Farm Machinery, Third Edition. CBS
Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, India.


Kurma, R. S. and Gupta, J. K. 2008. Theory of
Machines, Eurasia Publishing House (PVT) LTD,
14
th
Edition, India.

Nelson P.G. 1985, Unpublished M.Sc Thesis,
N.C.A.E H/75/85, Silsoe College, England.

Razaq I.M. 1981, Unpublished M.Sc Thesis,
N.C.A.E/ Ms/81/253, Silsoe College, England. Roller
Rice Dehusking Machine. Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis,
Silsoe

SKF Bearings 1981, General Cataloque, Sweden.

Ukatu A.C. 2006. Enhancing the Development of
Viable Prototype of Agricultural Machines in
Nigeria. Proceedings of the Nigerian Institution of
Agricultural Engineers, pp 38-44.