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Steampunk Gear Mesh: Friction, Heat & Efficiency (2D)

2D companion to N63 Steampunk Gears: real involute-mesh specific-sliding and Hertzian contact-stress formulas drive a lumped thermal model, so you can watch frictional heat, sparks and transmission efficiency respond live to load, speed and lubrication.

Physics & Mechanics2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

This 2D companion re-derives the physics that the 3D steampunk gear train only animates: real involute-mesh specific-sliding and Hertzian contact-stress formulas drive a lumped thermal model, so the sparks and steam that were purely decorative in the 3D scene now respond to actual load, speed, tooth-count and lubrication controls, with a live readout of gear ratio, sliding velocity, contact stress, frictional heat, temperature and transmission efficiency.

⚙ Under the hood

2D gear-mesh lab: specific sliding v_slide = (ω1+ω2)·x is computed from distance along the line of action, feeding a Hertzian contact-stress formula and a frictional heat rate q = μ·F·|v_slide| into a lumped thermal model dT/dt = q/C_th − k_cool·(T−T_amb); output torque is derived from input torque, the ideal gear ratio and the resulting efficiency loss, and an Overload-spike button lets you push the mesh into spark-and-overheat territory on demand.

gear meshinvolute gearsspecific slidinghertzian contact stressfrictional heattransmission efficiency

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install