MEC8029 : Design of Mechanical Power Transmissions
- Offered for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Professor Brian Shaw
- Other Staff: Mr Reece Chohan, Mr Robert Lambert, Mr Tom Reavie
- Owning School: Engineering
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The module aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills to design, select and control manufacturing routes and to understand the in-service behaviour of mechanical power transmission systems and equipment, especially rotary drive systems. The module aims to enable students to specify / select / design / manufacture drive systems for a wide variety of driven loads to a given performance specification. It also aims to teach the design, manufacturing and quality assurance of selected power transmission components, equipment and systems and to apply the knowledge gained to the design of a mechanical power transmission.
Outline Of Syllabus
Drive systems are integral to most machines and products. This module deals with the systems and the detail engineering to design successful transmissions. The main topics will be:
- Introduction to drive systems and components.
- Principles of drive system and component design/selection.
- Design approaches for power transmission shaft/bearing/housing assemblies considering ease of manufacture and assembly.
- Gear drives, gear types, main characteristics, geometry and manufacturing routes.
- Design and analysis of spur and helical gears.
- Design and selection of shafts, splines and couplings.
- Understanding and selection of bearings.
- Material selection, manufacturing routes and impact on failure modes.
- Detail design of a typical mechanical power transmissions.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | Industry lectures supporting syllabus content. |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 3 | 1:00 | 3:00 | Completion and review of Canvas Quizzes. |
| Structured Guided Learning | Lecture materials | 11 | 2:00 | 22:00 | Pre-recorded online video lectures. |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 50:00 | 50:00 | Revision of lecture material, attempting tutorial questions and background reading. Practice with software. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 15 | 2:00 | 30:00 | Lectures |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 2:30 | 2:30 | Examination |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 30:00 | 30:00 | Preparation/completion of Assignment |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 35:30 | 35:30 | Revision for exam |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 3 | 2:00 | 6:00 | Practical sessions and AERH site visit. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 11 | 1:00 | 11:00 | Tutorial sessions |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 4 | 2:00 | 8:00 | Computer cluster sessions for design software. |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The module uses lectures and course material as an efficient way to introduce the students to new topics and to provide a firm foundation for the subject and to meet the intended knowledge outcomes.
The intended skills outcomes are met through a combination of practical classes, applied software learning and tutorials covering the application of calculation and design methods.
The practicals give a facility tour, demonstrations and exercises that allow students to gain hands-on experience examining many types of drives system designs, component types, experience several drive systems operating and understand failure processes.
The gear software skills learned during the course represent the industry standard transmission design software and allows selection of optimal gear designs (applying knowledge from lectures) required in the gearbox assignment.
The tutorial classes allow students to apply knowledge and consolidate learning.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Examination | 150 | 1 | A | 70 | Inspera invigilated open-book Exam. Paper resources are allowed, no digital resources except for provided Inspera resources. |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | 1 | M | 30 | Gearbox assignment - max 10 pages. |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer assessment | 1 | M | Online quizzes to check module knowledge. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The assessment approach ensures that students have a level of formative feedback as the course progresses in the form of in-class quizzes designed to support and consolidate learning. Combined with practical and tutorial sessions, these will assist students to focus their guided independent study.
The in-class quizzes also provide examples of the question types that will be utilised in the Inspera exam that attracts 70% of the available marks.
The open-book Inspera exam will be invigilated, on-campus, allowing the students to demonstrate the application of the knowledge they have been taught. This exam will assess the intended knowledge outcomes using varying question types such as multi-choice, calculations and essay.
The gearbox assignment, attracting 30% of the available module marks, backed up by on-line sessions, meets the intended skills outcomes. This applies the taught material and leads the students to a greater depth of understanding of the detail design of components and/or selection and& matching of drive systems. The output of the gearbox assignment includes appropriate designs / system diagrams, calculations and evidence of appropriate decision making, all presented in a final professional report.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- MEC8029's Timetable