Velocity of a piston in a piston-shaft mechanism

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a piston connected to a rotating wheel through two shafts, with specific parameters given for angular speed and angles. The goal is to determine the velocity of the piston based on the geometry and motion described.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to apply trigonometric relationships and implicit differentiation to find the velocity of the piston but expresses concern over the realism of the result.
  • Some participants question the omission of angular speed in the original poster's calculations.
  • Others suggest that the problem may lack sufficient constraints or clarity, leading to confusion about the expected outcome.
  • There is discussion about the implications of the wheel's rotation and whether it affects the piston's motion even when certain angular velocities are zero.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring different interpretations of the problem and questioning the assumptions made. Some guidance has been offered regarding the importance of considering angular speed, but no consensus has been reached on the correct approach or interpretation of the problem.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the absence of a figure initially, which may impact understanding. There is also mention of potential unrealistic results from the calculations, prompting further inquiry into the problem's setup and constraints.

afaiyaz
hr3nr5

Homework Statement


In the figure, a piston P is connected to a cylinder. The piston is connected to a rotating wheel with two shafts AB and BC. The shaft AB is connected on the periphery of the wheel. The wheel is rotating with angular speed ω= 100 rad s-1. At the moment A,C and the center of the wheel is collinear and θ=30° and dθ/dt = 500 rad s-1 , what is the velocity of the piston? (AB = 1.5m, BC = 1m)

Homework Equations


a2 = b2+c2-2abcosθ
Basic Trigonometry
Implicit DIfferentiation
dx/dt = dx/dθ × dθ/dt

The Attempt at a Solution


Since the linking rods are rigid, they must maintain their length throughout.
ebo1jQ

From the diagram, I assumed a pathway of shaft AB (denoted by y) and used it to find x, which I presumed is the horizontal motion of shaft BC. The rate of change of x with respect to time is, therefore, the velocity of the piston.

My working is as follows:
tan 60 = 1.5/y
∴y=√3/2 m.
Using sine rule,
sin C = y × (sin 120/1)
∴ C = 48.6°
sin (11.4) / x = sin (120) / 1
∴ x=0.228

Using cosine rule,
y2+x2+xy = 1
(2y × dy/dt) + (2x × dx/dt) + (x × dy/dt) + (y × dx/dt) = 0
∴ dx/dt = (- (2y+x) × dy/dt) / (2y+x)

dy/dt = 500 × 1.5 = 750 m/s
Plugging in values of y,x and dy/dt, I get -1111.9≈-1112 m/s.

I feel like this answers very unrealistic as it is more than 3.5 times the speed of sound. Could anyone point out where the mistake is? Could there be a completely different approach to the problem?
 
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You forgot to upload the figure.
 
as.jpg
 
the original figure
as2.jpg
 
Why didn't you consider ##\omega## in your solution?
 
This is either a trick question or it was set by an academic with no knowledge of mechanisms .

There is no sensible answer .
 
Do I have to? @arpon bro
If so, how do I use it in the solution?
 
What do you mean by 'no sensible answer'? @Nidum
Could you please clarify?
 
afaiyaz said:
Do I have to? @arpon bro
If so, how do I use it in the solution?
If ##\frac{d\theta}{dt} = 0## and ##\omega## is nonzero, will the piston move? What do you think?
Drawing diagrams may help.
 
  • #10
I think it should because, even if \frac{dθ}{dt}=0, the wheel is still rotating so there's ω.There may be no angualr velocity of the shaft AB along centre A, but there is the ω of the wheel. And if that's the case, I think ω has to be considered for calculating piston's velocity, although I'm not sure how to use it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #11
afaiyaz said:
What do you mean by 'no sensible answer'? @Nidum
Could you please clarify?
Because you could keep the position of C fixed and the wheel could still rotate. B will just move back and forth in an arc centred on C.
To make sense of the question there needs to beanother mechanical constraint.
 
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