Dynamics of Machinery Inertia forces of reciprocating parts

The inertia force is an imaginary force, which when acts upon a rigid body, brings it in an equilibrium position. It is numerically equal to the accelerating force in magnitude, but opposite in direction. Mathematically, Inertia force = Accelerating force = m.a where m = Mass of the body, and a = Linear acceleration of the center of gravity of the body. The inertia torque is an imaginary torque, which when applied upon the rigid body, brings it in equilibrium position. It is equal to the accelerating couple in magnitude but opposite in direction.

Resultant Effect of a System of Forces Acting on a Rigid Body Consider a rigid body acted upon by a system of forces. These forces may be reduced to a single resultant force F whose line of action is at a distance h from the center of gravity G. Now let us assume two equal and opposite forces (of magnitude F ) acting through G, and parallel to the resultant force, without influencing the effect of the resultant force F, as shown in Fig.

A little consideration will show that the body is now subjected to a couple (equal to F h) and a force, equal and parallel to the resultant force F passing through G. The force F through G causes linear acceleration of the c.g. and the moment of the couple (F h) causes angular acceleration of the body about an axis passing through G and perpendicular to the point in which the couple acts

Newton's second law for rotation

Replace force by torque, m by I, and acceleration by angular acceleration and you get:

straight-line motion equation by substituting the corresponding rotational variables for the straight-line motion variables : Angular displacement () for displacement (s) Angular velocity ()for velocity(V) Angular acceleration() for acceleration(a) Torque() for force(F) Moment of inertia(I) for mass (m)

Approximate Analytical Method for Velocity and Acceleration of the Piston (section 15.8)
Consider the motion of a crank and connecting rod of a reciprocating steam engine as shown in Fig. Let OC be the crank and PC the connecting rod. Let the crank rotates with angular velocity of rad/s and the crank turns through an angle from the inner dead centre (briefly written as I.D.C). Let x be the displacement of a reciprocating body P from I.D.C. after time t seconds, during which the crank has turned through an angle .

Let

Acceleration of the piston

Since the acceleration is the rate of change of velocity, therefore acceleration of the piston P,

Angular Velocity and Acceleration of the Connecting Rod

Consider the motion of a connecting rod and a crank as shown in Fig. From the geometry of the figure, we find that CQ = l sin = r sin

Problem:

If the crank and the connecting rod are 300 mm and 1 m long respectively and the crank rotates at a constant speed of 200 r.p.m., determine:1. The crank angle at which the maximum velocity occurs, and 2. Maximum velocity of the piston.
Solution. Given : r = 300 mm = 0.3 m ; l = 1 m ; N = 200 r.p.m. or = 2 200/60 = 20.95 rad/s

Forces on the Reciprocating Parts of an Engine, Neglecting the Weight of the Connecting Rod
The various forces acting on the reciprocating parts of a horizontal engine are shown in Fig. The expressions for these forces, neglecting the weight of the connecting rod, may be derived as discussed below :

1. Piston effort. It is the net force acting on the piston or crosshead pin, along the line of stroke. It is denoted by FP in Fig.

It may be noted that in a horizontal engine, the reciprocating parts are accelerated from rest, during the latter half of the stroke (i.e. when the piston moves from inner dead centre to outer dead centre). It is, then, retarded during the latter half of the stroke (i.e. when the piston moves from outer dead centre to inner dead centre). The inertia force due to the acceleration of the reciprocating parts, opposes the force on the piston due to the difference of pressures in the cylinder on the two sides of the piston. On the other hand, the inertia force due to retardation of the reciprocating parts, helps the force on the piston.