# Tag Info

58

The whole point of lubrication is to keep the two surfaces almost apart. Water has low viscosity in comparison to oil-based lubricants, which means that it forms a thinner film (electrohydrodynamic film thickness) between the two surfaces; the thinner the film, the greater the chance of direct physical contact between the parts. So, the higher viscosity ...

51

As other have pointed out, the main utility is to allow easier cleaning of the tank cars from sediment (solid precipitates). Usually, there is a drain in the lowest point. The reason that it is in the middle is that in this way, you can allow double the incline compared to if you had the drain at one of the ends for the same height. For example, if the ...

46

Water meets the low compressibility requirement, but there are many other considerations in the design of a hydraulic system: Boiling point/vapor pressure: If the system warms up during operation, the fluid may boil, which results in high compressibility and thus decreased effectiveness of the hydraulic system. Hydraulic fluid has a higher boiling point ...

44

If you consider only the static forces then indeed the thickness might seem over-engineered. However, engine blocks are not statically loaded. They operate in the range of a few hundred to a few thousand rpm (Revolution Per Minute), so there are dynamic considerations here. Fatigue When materials are subjected to cyclic loading they exhibit a reduction in ...

37

Trees increase the turbulence of the air that reaches the turbines. That creates all sorts of uneven, rapidly-shifting loads on the blades and structure. That increases the maintenance costs, decreases availability, decreases the capacity factor, and decreases the life expectancy of the turbine. So, higher costs, lower revenue. One of the ways we measure ...

36

The soft clicking sound you hear when coasting is the pawl going over the ratchet as in the picture below.

33

I will expand on DKNguyen answer, because to my knowledge also the two reasons are: reduce contact/bearing stresses (having a significant effect on thin finishes live galvanisation) change the joint tightening characteristics (see joint diagram). reduce contact stresses on surfaces. The basic idea is that since contact stress is defined as: \sigma = \...

32

The loops are known as expansion loops. They need to be placed in pipelines to enable the pipelines to contend with thermal expansion and contraction and other forces that can affect the pipeline. They are typically placed in gas pipelines, irrespective of when the gas is hot or cold - natural gas or steam. The following quote is from Pipeline Design. It's ...

31

The exhaust gasses are compressible fluids, whereas liquid water is not. Here's an animation of how a gas turbine works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqNtoy2x5bU At the combustion stage, the gas and compressed air are mixed together, already at high pressure. The burning releases the energy stored in the gas, heating up the released gasses (exhaust). ...

31

Some ideas: Wheel Load Distribution: The load is greater on the rear wheels providing the power; more force on the front ones bring no benefit and would provide less traction. Better manoeuvrability from having a shorter wheelbase. Better Ground Clearance in some conditions, especially for bumps and or up a increasing slope for instance. Better Driving: The ...

31

It depends on how steep the hill is. On a slight hill, the energy added by gravity is still not enough to overcome rolling friction and air resistance, so the car still needs power to maintain speed. On a steeper hill, the two may balance out, so no power is used, and no power is generated. On a hill that's steep enough to require braking to control the ...

28

Gear ratio This is a Roller Chain drive system, and as such it's a timed system. The ratio between the two connected pieces depends entirely on the number of teeth on either end. Even if you altered the diameter of the root of each tooth so the chain can sit higher or lower, at the end of 1,000 revolutions the chain will have moved the same amount on ...

27

Car wheels have holes mostly due to weight and cost considerations. Each hole is a chunk of material that you aren't wasting and weighing down the wheel with. As another bonus, the holes help with cooling the brakes by allowing airflow between the inside and outside. The shape and size of the holes are calculated to have a minimal impact on the structural ...

27

There are a couple reasons. First of all, it's important to note that the sensation of warmth or coolness is only indirectly related to temperature. The receptors in your skin that deal with temperature are mainly sensitive to heat transfer and changes in temperature, not so much absolute temperature values. For example, here's an interesting excerpt from ...

27

There are a few simple reasons why the speed of a vehicle (road conditions notwithstanding) may be limited: Gearing -- Production vehicles with conventional transmissions have a limited number of gears. For most modern cars, this is usually 5 or 6, whereas older vehicles may have as few as 2 or 3. If the gear ratio of the highest gear is too low ("lower" ...

27

It is for spreading out the stress. But it is also for giving the bolt a bearing surface to turn on. The washer always goes on the side (nut or bolt) that is being turned. It prevents it from marring up the work surface and also changes the tightening characteristics. I don't know the specifics of that though but that's what I was told by a toolmaker. Always ...

26

it is called a freewheel. Inside the sprocket gear, there is a mechanism that lets the chain engage the rear wheel only when it is moving faster than the wheel is turning; else the wheel will turn freely. They are either several spring-loaded ballbearings that self deploy when the outer ring turns faster and recoil when it turns slower than the inner ring. ...

25

A specific reason for doing this is simply when there isn't enough room to do a bow or stern first launch. This is often the case when a ship or boat is built in a yard on a river or canal either because the hull is especially long or the channel it is being launched into is narrow. There is also the consideration that a sideways launch can be done from any ...

24

Actually, handlebars and steering wheels are less similar than you might think. When a two-wheeled vehicle is moving fast enough to balance, the front wheel is never turned more than a few degrees. The primary mechanism for steering is leaning the vehicle, not turning the front wheel. For example, to turn right, you actually tug briefly on the left side of ...

24

As with all good things, it depends. If you can assume that your supports are totally stiff and that the loading on the shelf will be approximately uniform, then you basically have the following structure: A rectangular cross-section (such as a plank) will behave equally under positive or negative bending moment, so your objective should be to balance both....

24

The photo you have is not for the standard jigsaw blade. Standard blades teeth point upward and cut upward for the obvious reasons: less wobble, more control, center of force near the handle. This is a revers cut blade designed to cut on downstroke to cut laminated work like countertops, so that the cut is not going to splinter the Formica or other laminate ...

24

The vending machines have different product delivery box implementations. One of the most common ones -I've encountered- is the following: Basically you have a box which has an opening, as shown in the picture. The opening is big enough for the products to fall in. When the box pivots, then the closed section of the curved face "closes" the access ...

23

You have the right concept, but slipped a decimal point. 5 cm = 0.05 m. The gravitational force on your 450 g mass is 4.4 N as you say, so the torque just to keep up with gravity is (4.4 N)(0.05 m) = 0.22 Nm. However, that is the absolute minimum torque just to keep the system in steady state. It leaves nothing for actually accellerating the mass and for ...

23

Different gears have different drivers for having holes. One way you can categorize gears is by whether they are used primarily for transferring: motion: transferring angular position and angular velocity (see clockwork) torque: when the gears are used in power transmission Motion Gears that transfer motion don't need to transfer power. So their strength ...

21

For a large and/or high speed fan, there are several mechanical disadvantages, for example The outer ring is highly stressed and therefore heavy. It may also need a heavy containment system to avoid collateral damage if it breaks. For example in a large turbofan jet engine, a mechanical failure caused by a crack near the hub of the fan usually only releases ...

20

A differential is a mechanical device designed to do exactly what you propose. It will allow the two motors to spin at slightly different rates while still combining the power. The most common use of a differential is in the drivetrain of an automobile in which it is used to power both wheels from one engine while still allowing the wheels to spin at ...

20

It is possible to make a air pump/compressor with absolutely no moving parts. Make a small, electrically non-conductive chamber and stick 2 electrodes into it. Pulse an arc through the electrodes so that the chamber pressure rises and falls rapidly. Use tesla air flow check valves (because they have zero moving parts) for intake and exhaust. When the arc ...

20

Pitch, roll and yaw are defined as the rotation around X, Y and Z axis. Below as a picture to illustrate the definition. In a previous project I used a ADXL345 Accelerometer from Analog Devices to calculate roll and pitch. Below are the equations used to calculated roll and pitch. I have made some of source code available for public use. accelerationX = (...

20

My first thought is that it might be intended to be a wing nut driver of some sort, but those are usually hollow cylinders with slots for the wings. Ah ... sure enough, it's described as such in this Ebay ad:

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