Work done

Work done is the force multiplied with the distance moved by the force - and can be expressed
as

W=Fs (1)

where

W = work done (J, Nm)

F = force (N)

s = distance moved by force (s)

For an angular motion

the work done can be expressed as

W=Fr

=T (2)

where

W = work (Joules)

= angle (radians)

r = radius (m)

T = torque or moment (Nm)

Power transmitted
Power is the ratio between the work done and the time taken and can be expressed as

P = W / dt

= T / dt

=T

=2nT

= 2 (nrpm / 60) T

= 0.105 nrpm T (3)

where

P = power (Watts)

dt = time taken (s)

= / dt = 2 n = angular velocity (rad/s)

n = speed (rev/s)

nrpm = speed (rev/min, rpm)

Note! - a machine must rotate to produce power! A machine with no rotation can deliver torque -
like an electric motor - but since no distance is moved by force - no power is produced. As soon
as the machine starts to rotate power is produced.

Example - required Torque to produce Power

A machine rotates with speed 3000 rev/min (rpm) and consumes 5 kW. The torque at the shaft
can be calculated by modifying (3) to

T=P/2n

= (5 kW) (1000 W/kW) / 2 (3000 rev/min) / (60 sec/min)

= 15.9 Nm
Power and Moment of Body in Angular Motion

The power of a rotating body can be expressed as

P=T

= T 2 nrps

= T nrpm / 30 (1)

where

P = power (W)

T = torque or moment (Nm)

= angular velocity (rad/s)

= 3.14...

nrps = rotations per second (rps, 1/s)

nrpm = rotations per minute (rpm, 1/min)

1 rad = 360o / 2 =~ 57.29578..o

Note! - an object - like an electric motor - can have an active moment without rotation, but
without rotation ( = 0) there is no power produced.

In imperial units

P = T nrpm / 5252 (1b)

where

P = power (hp)

T = torque (lbf ft)

Example - Moment created by a Rotating Motor

An electric motor runs with 3600 rpm with an measured power consumption of 2000 W. The
moment created by the motor (without losses) can be calculated by rearranging (1) to

T = 30 P / ( nrpm)
 = 30 (2000 W) / ( (3600 rpm))

= 5.3 Nm

Moment Calculator

P - power (W)
2000

nm - rotations (rpm)
3600

Torque of a Body in Angular Motion

T=I (2)

where

I = moment of inertia (kg m2, lbm ft2)

= angular acceleration (rad/s2)

I purchased a new car recently and in doing so became (for the
first time) moderately curious about vehicle performance. I set
about to see how it compared to my previous car performance-
wise and was immediately struck by a pivotal question:

What matters more for accelerationhorsepower or torque?

My first approach was to ask those immediately around me and

call some friends that were into cars and/or racing. The results
were not satisfactory. I got a few decent responses, but nobody
could explain the relationship to me in a way that I could
understand.

All this did was confuse and intrigue me. One thing I did figure out
is that none of the people arguing were using hard science as the
foundation for their argument; they were invoking science, but
were doing so very sloppily. Well, that wasnt enough for me so I
set out to find the real answers.

The Basics
So to start with I naturally consulted Google. Most of the top hits
for torque vs. horsepower are excellent pieces; they break down
the math in a very methodical way, so I wont repeat that excellent
work here. Instead Ill just summarize the basics that are accepted
as fact by everyone:

Horsepower:

James Watt came up with the concept of horsepower which is

a measure of, interestingly enough, power. 1 HP is the equivalent
of 33,000 ft/lbfs per minute. The reason for the complex unit is
that were accounting for three things with this number: the
amount of weight involved, the distance its being moved, and how
long it takes to do it (that last one is important).

Torque:

Torque is nothing more than a measurement of twisting,

or rotational, force. The easiest way to think of this is to imagine a
long shaft like a cars axle and imagine its in a room
suspended in mid air. Hanging on the bottom of one end is a rope
with a weight attached a very heavy weight.

Now imagine someone trying to, using their hands, twist the shaft
so as to lift the weight. Think of them as essentially trying to act
like a wench and reel it up. The amount of force they are able to
generate to lift the weight in this manner is the torque that theyre
able to produce. One unit for measurement of this is the foot-
pound. A foot-pound is the rotational force generated by hanging
a one-pound weight at the end of a 1-foot wrench.
The Common Mistake
The mistake most people make when engaging in this debate is
considering horsepower and torque independently. Almost
everyone argues as if they are separate, unrelated values. They
arent.

Horsepower = (Torque x RPMs) / 5252

This equation is the second most important thing on this page,

and its the reason that anyone telling you that horsepower and
torque should be considered equally and separately is
significantly off-base. The fact of the matter is that horsepower is
the product of torque and another value RPMs (divided by
5252). Its not unrelated, separate, or different.

In fact, theres not a single machine in existence that measures a

cars horsepower. Its a man-made number. When a cars
performance is tested, its torque is measured using
a dynamometer. The measure of an engines performance is
torque. Horsepower is an additional number thats attained by
multiplying the torque by the RPMs.

The Physics of Acceleration

So now for the most important thing on the page. What
determines true acceleration for a vehicle isnt really debatable
its force divided by mass. The formula for acceleration is seen
below.
f = ma

Which means

a = f/m

The confusion only comes in determining which force were

actually talking about.

So we are solving for acceleration and we have a constant mass.

Weve already established that torque is the amount of rotational
force being generated at the engine, but we arent concerned with
the force at the engine. What were interested in is the force at the
wheels. The force at the wheels is the f in f = ma (actually, it
includes the radius of the wheel as well, but were simplifying).

But remember, the transmission ultimately gives the force to the

wheels, not the engine. And thats the trick to this whole mess.

Gearing
So thats where gearing comes in.

Gearing magnifies torque. The torque at the wheels is the torque

at the engine combined with the torque magnification given by the
transmission through gearing. So the transmission only sees
whats coming off the engine, while the wheels see the resulting
force combination of the engine plus the transmission.
Thats what horsepower represents. Horsepower is the
combination of the benefits of the engines raw abilities combined
with RPMs. And RPMs are what allow us to use gearing
effectively, which gives us more torque at the wheels.

Conclusion
So a technical answer to the question of, What makes
acceleration: torque or horsepower?, is torquebut torque at the
wheels, not at the engine. And since were talking about torque at
the wheels and not at the engine, the best answer is horsepower,
because horsepower encompasses not only the engines torque
but the total torque that gets delivered to the wheels and
therefore provides the f in f = ma .

[ Published: July 2007, Updated October 2015 ]

Notes

1. For any comments, corrections, flames, or other types of input, feel free
to contact me. Im game for anything thatll help me better understand this
interesting subject.

2. Gearing is extremely important because it controls RPMs (and therefore

horsepower).

3. Gears magnify torque hence the acceleration available in first gear.

4. Another way to validate that its power and not torque that matters most for
acceleration is to look at the cars that have the highest acceleration, which
are the F1 cars. And guess what? Low torque, high horsepower.

5. Another excellent explanation of the topics at allpar.com

6. Another way to see the importance of gearing is to notice how fast some low-
end cars are able to accelerate in first gear. They feel pretty fast at first
because they can jump off the line, but its really just a super high gear that
sends lots of torque to the wheels. But it runs out quickly.

7. Racecars have high horsepower due to high RPMs, not due to high torque
(see gearing).

8. Below 5252 RPMs any engines torque will always be higher than its
horsepower, and above 5252 RPMs any engines horsepower will always be
higher than its torque. At5252 RPMs the

9.

10.horsepower and torque will be exactly the same. revsearch.com

11.It is better to make torque at high rpm than at low rpm, because you can
take advantage of gearing. vettenet.org
A gear train is a mechanical system formed by mounting gears on a frame so that the teeth of the
gears engage.
Gear teeth are designed to ensure the pitch circles of engaging gears roll on each other without
slipping, providing a smooth transmission of rotation from one gear to the next. [1]
The transmission of rotation between contacting toothed wheels can be traced back to
the Antikythera mechanism of Greece and the south-pointing chariot of China. Illustrations by the
Renaissance scientist Georgius Agricola show gear trains with cylindrical teeth. The implementation
of the involute tooth yielded a standard gear design that provides a constant speed ratio.
Features of gears and gear trains include:

The ratio of the pitch circles of mating gears defines the speed ratio and the mechanical
advantage of the gear set.

A planetary gear train provides high gear reduction in a compact package.

It is possible to design gear teeth for gears that are non-circular, yet still transmit torque
smoothly.

The speed ratios of chain and belt drives are computed in the same way as gear ratios.
See bicycle gearing.