Horsepower ( hp ) is a unit of measurement of power , or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the imperial horsepower as in "hp" or "bhp" which is about 745.7 watts , and the metric horsepower as in "cv" or "PS" which is approximately 735.5 watts.
45-540: The EMD SD50 is a 3,500- horsepower (2,610 kW) diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division . It was introduced in May 1981 as part of EMD's "50 Series"; production ceased in January 1986. The SD50 was a transitional model between EMD's Dash 2 series which was produced throughout the 1970s and the microprocessor -equipped SD60 and SD70 locomotives. A total of 431 were built. The SD50
90-415: A ' brewery horse ' could produce 32,400 foot-pounds [43,929 J] per minute." James Watt and Matthew Boulton standardized that figure at 33,000 foot-pounds (44,742 J) per minute the next year. A common legend states that the unit was created when one of Watt's first customers, a brewer, specifically demanded an engine that would match a horse, and chose the strongest horse he had and driving it to
135-429: A group of engineers modified a dynometer to be able to measure how much horsepower a horse can produce. This horse was measured to 5.7 hp (4.3 kW). When torque T is in pound-foot units, rotational speed N is in rpm , the resulting power in horsepower is The constant 5252 is the rounded value of (33,000 ft⋅lbf/min)/(2π rad/rev). When torque T is in inch-pounds, The constant 63,025
180-530: A healthy human can produce about 1.2 hp (0.89 kW) briefly (see orders of magnitude ) and sustain about 0.1 hp (0.075 kW) indefinitely; trained athletes can manage up to about 2.5 hp (1.9 kW) briefly and 0.35 hp (0.26 kW) for a period of several hours. The Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt produced a maximum of 3.5 hp (2.6 kW) 0.89 seconds into his 9.58 second 100-metre (109.4 yd) sprint world record in 2009. In 2023
225-454: A step too far; the 50 series models were plagued by engine and electrical system problems which harmed EMD's sales and reputation. Compared with their predecessors, the SD50 had a longer frame and a substantially longer long hood . In addition, the resistors for the dynamic brake grid were moved from their location on previous models above the prime mover to a new, cooler location in front of
270-412: Is a coefficient of theoretical brake horsepower and cylinder pressures during combustion. Nominal horsepower (nhp) is an early 19th-century rule of thumb used to estimate the power of steam engines. It assumed a steam pressure of 7 psi (48 kPa). Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It
315-420: Is also used in many places to symbolize brake horsepower. Drawbar power (dbp) is the power a railway locomotive has available to haul a train or an agricultural tractor to pull an implement. This is a measured figure rather than a calculated one. A special railway car called a dynamometer car coupled behind the locomotive keeps a continuous record of the drawbar pull exerted, and the speed. From these,
360-463: Is equivalent to a boiler heat output of 33,469 Btu/h (9.809 kW). Present industrial practice is to define "boiler horsepower" as a boiler thermal output equal to 33,475 Btu/h (9.811 kW), which is very close to the original and revised definitions. Boiler horsepower is still used to measure boiler output in industrial boiler engineering in the US. Boiler horsepower is abbreviated BHP, which
405-454: Is equivalent to a boiler heat output of 33,485 Btu/h (9.813 kW). A few years later in 1884, the ASME re-defined the boiler horsepower as the thermal output equal to the evaporation of 34.5 pounds per hour of water "from and at" 212 °F (100 °C). This considerably simplified boiler testing, and provided more accurate comparisons of the boilers at that time. This revised definition
450-484: Is in psi, and flow rate is in US gallons per minute. Drilling rigs are powered mechanically by rotating the drill pipe from above. Hydraulic power is still needed though, as 1 500 to 5 000 W are required to push mud through the drill bit to clear waste rock. Additional hydraulic power may also be used to drive a down-hole mud motor to power directional drilling . When using SI units, the equation becomes coherent and there
495-465: Is needed to pull a drawbar load of 2,025 pounds-force at 5 miles per hour? { P } h p = 2025 × 5 375 = 27. {\displaystyle \{P\}_{\mathrm {hp} }={\frac {2025\times 5}{375}}=27.} The constant 375 is because 1 hp = 375 lbf⋅mph. If other units are used, the constant is different. When using coherent SI units (watts, newtons, and metres per second), no constant
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#1732798180724540-507: Is needed, and the formula becomes P = Fv . This formula may also be used to calculate the power of a jet engine, using the speed of the jet and the thrust required to maintain that speed. Example: how much power is generated with a thrust of 4000 pounds at 400 miles per hour? { P } h p = 4000 × 400 375 = 4266.7. {\displaystyle \{P\}_{\mathrm {hp} }={\frac {4000\times 400}{375}}=4266.7.} This measure
585-434: Is no dividing constant. where pressure is in pascals (Pa), and flow rate is in cubic metres per second (m ). Boiler horsepower is a boiler 's capacity to deliver steam to a steam engine and is not the same unit of power as the 550 ft lb/s definition. One boiler horsepower is equal to the thermal energy rate required to evaporate 34.5 pounds (15.6 kg) of fresh water at 212 °F (100 °C) in one hour. In
630-513: Is ordinarily stated in watts or kilowatts. In the United States, the power output is stated in horsepower which, for this purpose, is defined as exactly 746 W. Hydraulic horsepower can represent the power available within hydraulic machinery , power through the down-hole nozzle of a drilling rig , or can be used to estimate the mechanical power needed to generate a known hydraulic flow rate. It may be calculated as where pressure
675-743: Is the approximation of Assuming the third CGPM (1901, CR 70) definition of standard gravity , g n = 9.80665 m/s , is used to define the pound-force as well as the kilogram force, and the international avoirdupois pound (1959), one imperial horsepower is: Or given that 1 hp = 550 ft⋅lbf/s, 1 ft = 0.3048 m, 1 lbf ≈ 4.448 N, 1 J = 1 N⋅m, 1 W = 1 J/s: 1 hp ≈ 745.7 W The various units used to indicate this definition ( PS , KM , cv , hk , pk , k , ks and ch ) all translate to horse power in English. British manufacturers often intermix metric horsepower and mechanical horsepower depending on
720-784: The Indiana & Ohio Railway and renumbered 5016 and 5017. The SD50F was a Canadian cowl unit version equipped with a "Draper taper" (inset section aft of cab for limited rear visibility). Sixty were built for the Canadian National Railway as road numbers 5400–5459. Early engine problems resulted in a temporary down-rating to 3,300 horsepower (2,500 kW). Eventually the units were re-rated to 3,500 horsepower (2,600 kW); however, like their U.S. cousins, they continued to suffer from relatively low reliability, frequently suffering engine, power assembly, and crankshaft failures. A number of SD50s have been rebuilt into
765-781: The kilowatt as the official power-measuring unit in EEC directives. Other names for the metric horsepower are the Italian cavallo vapore (cv) , Dutch paardenkracht (pk) , the French cheval-vapeur (ch) , the Spanish caballo de vapor and Portuguese cavalo-vapor (cv) , the Russian лошадиная сила (л. с.) , the Swedish hästkraft (hk) , the Finnish hevosvoima (hv) ,
810-501: The 1926 Iowa State Fair , they reported that the peak power over a few seconds has been measured to be as high as 14.88 hp (11.10 kW) and also observed that for sustained activity, a work rate of about 1 hp (0.75 kW) per horse is consistent with agricultural advice from both the 19th and 20th centuries and also consistent with a work rate of about four times the basal rate expended by other vertebrates for sustained activity. When considering human-powered equipment ,
855-861: The Estonian hobujõud (hj) , the Norwegian and Danish hestekraft (hk) , the Hungarian lóerő (LE) , the Czech koňská síla and Slovak konská sila (k or ks ), the Serbo-Croatian konjska snaga (KS) , the Bulgarian конска сила , the Macedonian коњска сила (KC) , the Polish koń mechaniczny (KM) ( lit. ' mechanical horse ' ), Slovenian konjska moč (KM) ,
900-585: The HT-C truck was eventually disproved, and Conrail chose HT-C trucks for their second order of SD50s and SD60s. The SD50S ("short frame") were prototype units built in December 1980. They were shorter than production locomotives by approximately 2 feet (0.61 m). There were six SD50Ss built, all of which were sold to the Norfolk & Western and eventually passed to Norfolk Southern . They were withdrawn in
945-679: The SD50, the 3,600 hp (2,685 kW) SD45 and SD45-2 , used huge, 20-cylinder engines that consumed large amounts of fuel and suffered from reliability problems when first introduced. Demand for the 45 series dropped sharply after the 1970s fuel crisis. The SD50 used an updated version of the V16 645 from the SD40-2, uprated to 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) at 950 rpm from 3,000 hp (2,240 kW) at 900 rpm, and uprated again in November 1984 to 3,600 hp (2,685 kW). This proved to be
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#1732798180724990-667: The Ukrainian кінська сила (к. с.) , the Romanian cal-putere (CP) , and the German Pferdestärke (PS) . In the 19th century, revolutionary-era France had its own unit used to replace the cheval vapeur (horsepower); based on a 100 kgf ⋅m/s standard, it was called the poncelet and was abbreviated p . Tax or fiscal horsepower is a non-linear rating of a motor vehicle for tax purposes. Tax horsepower ratings were originally more or less directly related to
1035-834: The depression it became a major supplier of munitions during World War II. In 1950 it was awarded the first of many contracts for diesel locomotives by the Commonwealth Railways after it was appointed the Australian licensee for Electro-Motive Diesel products. Apart from building locomotives and rolling stock, Clyde Engineering diversified into telephone and industrial electronic equipment, machine tools, domestic aluminium ware, road making and earth making equipment, hydraulic pumps, product finishing equipment, filtration systems, boilers, power stations and firing equipment, car batteries, hoists and cranes, door and curtain tracks and motor vehicle distribution. In July 1996 it
1080-406: The early 2000s as non-standard. Two were rebuilt in 2008 as "SD40E" models by Norfolk Southern's Juniata Shops , along with several standard length SD50s. The SD50S designation was also used for five locomotives built by EMD Australian licensee Clyde Engineering , Adelaide for Hamersley Iron . Shorter than production SD50s, they were equipped with a special double cab roof for insulation against
1125-666: The early days of steam use, the boiler horsepower was roughly comparable to the horsepower of engines fed by the boiler. The term "boiler horsepower" was originally developed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876, where the best steam engines of that period were tested. The average steam consumption of those engines (per output horsepower) was determined to be the evaporation of 30 pounds (14 kg) of water per hour, based on feed water at 100 °F (38 °C), and saturated steam generated at 70 psi (480 kPa). This original definition
1170-525: The engine compartment air intakes, closer to the electrical switchgear. This increased their separation from other systems, simplifying maintenance for the prime mover and the electrical system. One former SD50 engineer praised the locomotives' wheel-slip control system and dynamic braking power, stating "they were able to give more adhesion than a SD40-2 ". The SD50 is powered by V16 16-645F3 series diesel engine driving either an EMD AR11A-D14 or an EMD AR16A-D18 traction alternator . The power generated by
1215-530: The engine's bore size, number of cylinders, and a (now archaic) presumption of engine efficiency. As new engines were designed with ever-increasing efficiency, it was no longer a useful measure, but was kept in use by UK regulations, which used the rating for tax purposes . The United Kingdom was not the only country that used the RAC rating; many states in Australia used RAC hp to determine taxation. The RAC formula
1260-499: The engine. The situation persisted for several generations of four- and six-cylinder British engines: For example, Jaguar's 3.4-litre XK engine of the 1950s had six cylinders with a bore of 83 mm (3.27 in) and a stroke of 106 mm (4.17 in), where most American automakers had long since moved to oversquare (large bore, short stroke) V8 engines . See, for example, the early Chrysler Hemi engine . The power of an engine may be measured or estimated at several points in
1305-494: The equivalent of SD40-2s . The Dash 2 features are already contained within the SD50. The units are derated from 3,500 hp (2,600 kW) at 950 rpm to 3,000 hp (2,200 kW) at 900 rpm. This is actually a quite simple change to the locomotive's Woodward PGE engine governor. • In late October 2022, the Illinois Railway Museum acquired former Chicago & North Western #7009 , believed by
1350-703: The hot Australian desert sun in the Pilbara region. Withdrawn in November 1995, they were sold to National Railway Equipment Company and exported to the United States in February 1999 and used in national lease service. They were subsequently sold to the Utah Railway in June 2001. In June 2017, 6063 and 6064 were sold to the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad , 6064 was relocated by Genesee & Wyoming to
1395-454: The limit. In that legend, Watt accepted the challenge and built a machine that was actually even stronger than the figure achieved by the brewer, and the output of that machine became the horsepower. In 1993, R. D. Stevenson and R. J. Wassersug published correspondence in Nature summarizing measurements and calculations of peak and sustained work rates of a horse. Citing measurements made at
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1440-470: The museum to be the first preserved SD50. [REDACTED] Media related to EMD SD50 locomotives at Wikimedia Commons Horsepower The term was adopted in the late 18th century by Scottish engineer James Watt to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses . It was later expanded to include the output power of other power-generating machinery such as piston engines , turbines , and electric motors . The definition of
1485-512: The origin of the engine in question. DIN 66036 defines one metric horsepower as the power to raise a mass of 75 kilograms against the Earth's gravitational force over a distance of one metre in one second: 75 kg × 9.80665 m/s × 1 m / 1 s = 75 kgf ⋅m/s = 1 PS. This is equivalent to 735.49875 W, or 98.6% of an imperial horsepower. In 1972, the PS was replaced by
1530-670: The power generated can be calculated. To determine the maximum power available, a controllable load is required; it is normally a second locomotive with its brakes applied, in addition to a static load. If the drawbar force ( F ) is measured in pounds-force (lbf) and speed ( v ) is measured in miles per hour (mph), then the drawbar power ( P ) in horsepower (hp) is { P } h p = { F } l b f { v } m p h 375 . {\displaystyle \{P\}_{\mathrm {hp} }={\frac {\{F\}_{\mathrm {lbf} }\{v\}_{\mathrm {mph} }}{375}}.} Example: How much power
1575-423: The size of the engine; but as of 2000, many countries changed over to systems based on CO 2 emissions, so are not directly comparable to older ratings. The Citroën 2CV is named for its French fiscal horsepower rating, "deux chevaux" (2CV). Nameplates on electrical motors show their power output, not the power input (the power delivered at the shaft, not the power consumed to drive the motor). This power output
1620-521: The traction alternator drove 6 EMD D87 traction motors rated at 1170 amps each. The SD50 was available with multiple traction motor gearing ratios and wheel sizes, the most common of which was the 70:17 ratio with 40-inch (1,016 mm) wheels, which allowed for a top speed of 70 mph (110 km/h). Other gearing options for the SD50 with 40-inch (1,016 mm) wheels included 69:18 for 76 mph (122 km/h), 67:19 for 82 mph (132 km/h) and 66:20 for 88 mph (142 km/h). The SD50
1665-502: The transmission of the power from its generation to its application. A number of names are used for the power developed at various stages in this process, but none is a clear indicator of either the measurement system or definition used. In general: All the above assumes that no power inflation factors have been applied to any of the readings. Engine designers use expressions other than horsepower to denote objective targets or performance, such as brake mean effective pressure (BMEP). This
1710-685: The unit varied among geographical regions. Most countries now use the SI unit watt for measurement of power. With the implementation of the EU Directive 80/181/EEC on 1 January 2010, the use of horsepower in the EU is permitted only as a supplementary unit. The development of the steam engine provided a reason to compare the output of horses with that of the engines that could replace them. In 1702, Thomas Savery wrote in The Miner's Friend : The idea
1755-609: Was 12 feet (3.7 m) in radius; therefore, the horse travelled 2.4 × 2π × 12 feet in one minute. Watt judged that the horse could pull with a force of 180 pounds-force (800 N). So: Engineering in History recounts that John Smeaton initially estimated that a horse could produce 22,916 foot-pounds (31,070 J) per minute. John Desaguliers had previously suggested 44,000 foot-pounds (59,656 J) per minute, and Thomas Tredgold suggested 27,500 foot-pounds (37,285 J) per minute. "Watt found by experiment in 1782 that
1800-514: Was also available with 42-inch (1,067 mm) wheels. The SD50 was also available with either HT-C trucks (identified with a hydraulic shock on the side of the middle axle of each truck) or the earlier Flexicoil trucks . Some investigators implicated the HT-C truck in derailments of Amtrak 's SDP40Fs , so Conrail chose the Flexicoil C trucks for their SD40-2s and their first order of SD50s—the only customer to do so. The controversy surrounding
1845-604: Was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Hudson Brothers. The company won contracts for railway rolling stock, a sewerage system, trams and agricultural machinery. In 1907 it won its first contract for steam locomotives for the New South Wales Government Railways . By 1923 it had 2,200 employees. After contracting during
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1890-546: Was instituted by the Royal Automobile Club and was used to denote the power of early 20th-century British cars. Many cars took their names from this figure (hence the Austin Seven and Riley Nine), while others had names such as "40/50 hp", which indicated the RAC figure followed by the true measured power. Taxable horsepower does not reflect developed horsepower; rather, it is a calculated figure based on
1935-420: Was later used by James Watt to help market his improved steam engine. He had previously agreed to take royalties of one-third of the savings in coal from the older Newcomen steam engines . This royalty scheme did not work with customers who did not have existing steam engines but used horses instead. Watt determined that a horse could turn a mill wheel 144 times in an hour (or 2.4 times a minute). The wheel
1980-493: Was produced in response to increasingly tough competition from GE Transportation , whose Dash 7 line was proving quite successful with railroads. While EMD's SD40-2 was a reliable and trusted product, GE's line included locomotives up to 3,600 hp (2,685 kW) with more modern technology, as well as very competitive finance and maintenance deals. EMD responded throughout the SD50 program by offering discounts on large orders. The GM-EMD locomotives that immediately preceded
2025-475: Was sometimes applied in British colonies as well, such as Kenya (British East Africa) . where Since taxable horsepower was computed based on bore and number of cylinders, not based on actual displacement, it gave rise to engines with "undersquare" dimensions (bore smaller than stroke), which tended to impose an artificially low limit on rotational speed , hampering the potential power output and efficiency of
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