A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

TO
PREFERRED NUMBERS

Dr.N.Ramani
Principal
NTTF School of PG Studies
Bangalore
1
Objective of this presentation:
•Gain an understanding of
•What are “Preferred Numbers”
•Why are they required
•When are they required
•How to select them

2
Why is it that we have only currency notes as
1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 Rupees only?
& not Three or four Rupee Notes?

3
Why is it that we have only currency notes as
1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 only?
& not Three or four Rupee Notes?
•The appeal of the series is its relation to decimalized
currency;
•All the numbers divide evenly into ten.
•Hence there is no three or thirty Rupee Note!

4
A series in which adjacent numbers differ by a constant
amount is called an arithmetic series, such as 3, 5, 7.
Shoe sizes, for example, are an arithmetic series in all
cultures simply because feet vary only over a small
range.

5
 Question:
Let us say, we want to build motors of
sizes ranging from 10kW to 100 kW in
five steps. Determine the intermediate
sizes

Anecdote about G.M!

6
How will you reach 100
starting from 10
in
5 Steps?

7
How will you reach 10
starting from 1 in 5 Steps?
100

B
A
10
8
If the first size is 10, an arithmetic series can
reach 100 in 5 steps by making adjacent
sizes differ by 18, that is, add 18 to the
preceding size

9
An arithmetic series of sizes results in small
sizes that are too far apart, and big sizes that
are too close together

10
Preferred Numbers NTTF

Sizes of
Electric Motors,
Power Presses,
Fridges,
Engines……

11
Preferred Numbers NTTF
Areas of Application:
•Construction of complete machines,
when the general characteristics, as well
as the sizes of each of the various
elements, are in geometric progression
(E.g:Engines….)
•Standardization of various machine
elements
12
•Experience has shown that
consumers’ requirements are
frequently satisfied when the range
of sizes follow, more or less closely,
a……………………….
• Guide to minimize unnecessary
multiplicity of sizes, resulting in
economy to maker & user
13
•Experience has shown that
consumers’ requirements are
frequently satisfied when the range
of sizes follow, more or less closely,
a geometric progression.
• Guide to minimize unnecessary
multiplicity of sizes, resulting in
economy to maker & user
14
Procedure :
• Determine
1.The smallest size
2.the largest size
3.The number of intermediate sizes
needed
•Set out by calculation a table of sizes, each
being approximately a uniform % larger than
its predecessor
15
•Definition: The theoretical
numbers, suitably rounded off for
practical convenience in certain
G.P, are known as ‘preferred
numbers’

16
If the first size is 10, a geometrical series can
reach 100 in 5 steps by making adjacent
sizes differ by a factor of , that is, multiply the
preceding size by about 1.58 (~1.6)

17
In 1877 a French military engineer, Col. Charles
Reynard (1849–1905) was given the job of improving
captive balloons. (In those days armies used such
balloons to observe the enemies' position.) He
discovered that 425 different sizes of cable were
being used to moor the balloons, a logistical
nightmare, and set about determining how best to
18
reduce these to a smaller number of sizes.
After determining that the relevant characteristic
of the cable was its mass per unit length,
Reynard succeeded in replacing the 425 sizes
with 17 sizes that covered the same range. To do
this he made the sizes a geometric series in
which by every fifth step the mass per unit
length of the cable increased by a factor of ten:

which gives
a, 1.5848a, 2.5119a, 3.9811a, 6.3096a, 10a

19
•He adopted a rule that would yield a
tenth multiple of the value ‘a’ after
every fifth step of the series, (eg)
a * q5 = 10a (ie) q = 5th root of
10
•Giving the series a, aq, aq2, aq3, aq4,
10a
•(viz) a, 1.584a, 2.5119a, 3.9811a, 20
 10

63

40

25
16
10
21
Renard’s Theory:
Round off for the sake of convenience the values
as follows, (which may be continued in both
directions)
10, 16, 25, 40, 63, 100
R5 Series Ratio = 5 10 = 1.58
R10 Series Ratio = 10 10 = 1.26
R20 Series Ratio = 20 10 = 1.12
R40 Series Ration = 40 10 = 1.06
22
R80 Series Ratio = 80
10 = 1.03
R5 IS A SUBSET OF R10 R5 R10
1.00 1.00
1.25
1.60 1.60
2.00
2.50 2.50
3.15
4.00 4.00
5.00
6.30 6.30
8.00
23
10.00 10.00
 R10 R20
R10 IS A SUBSET OF R20 1.00 1.00
1.12
1.25 1.25
1.40
1.60 1.60
1.80
2.00 2.00
2.24
2.50 2.50
2.80
3.15 3.15
3.55
4.00 4.00
4.50
5.00 5.00
5.60
6.30 6.30
7.10
8.00 8.00
9.00 24
10.00 10.00
Note:
Successive terms in the respective
series increase approx by 58%, 26%,
12%, 6%, & 3%. (A series can be
extended indefinitely upwards or
downwards by multiplying or dividing
repeatedly by 10. )

25
Designation of the Series:
The series of preferred numbers shall
be designated respectively as
R5,R10,R20,R40 & R80, where R
stands for Renard & the number
indicates the particular root of 10, on
which the series is based.

26
Advantages:
‘R’ Series enable the requisite range
to be covered by minimum number of
different sizes, with the resulting
economy to both the maker & the
user.

27
Application areas of preferred numbers:
•Length;Area;Volume
•Thickness;
•Force;Weight;
•Pressure
•Voltage
•Time
•Flow rate…... etc 28
An Example
Cylindrical Storage Tanks
# DIA HEIGHT CAPACITY
d(R10) h (R10) V (R10/3)

1 100mm 125mm 1 Lit

29
•R40 series of preferred
numbers include the numbers
3000, 1500, 750 & 375 which
have special importance in
electricity (viz) synchronous
speed in RPM of rotating m/c for
50Hz frequency

30
The best scale would be determined by
taking into consideration the two
tendencies:
•A scale with too wide steps involves a
waste of materials & an increase in the
cost of mfg.
•A too closely spaced scale leads to an
increase in the cost of tooling & also in the
value of stock inventory
31
 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1.6 2.5 4 6.3 10

R5 SERIES OF PREFERRED NUMBERS

12
10 10.00
8
6 6.30
4 4.00
2 2.50
1.00 1.60
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

32
 1.6
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1.6 2.5 4 6.3 10

R5 SERIES OF PREFERRED NUMBERS

12
10 10.00
8
6 6.30
4 4.00
2 2.50
1.00 1.60
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

33
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1 1.25 1.6 2 2.5 3.15 4 5 6.3 8 10

R10 SERIES OF PREFERRED NUMBERS

12
10 10
8 8
6 6.3
5
4 3.15
4
2.5
2 1.25 1.6 2
1
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

34
 1.25
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1 1.25 1.6 2 2.5 3.15 4 5 6.3 8 10

R10 SERIES OF PREFERRED NUMBERS

12
10 10
8 8
6 6.3
5
4 3.15
4
2.5
2 1.25 1.6 2
1
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

35
1.6 ? 1.25 2.5 ?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1 1.25 1.6 2 2.5 3.15 4 5 6.3 8 10

R10 SERIES OF PREFERRED NUMBERS

12
10 10
8 8
6 6.3
5
4 3.15
4
2.5
2 1.25 1.6 2
1
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

6.3 ? 3.15 ?
36
37
 Some very important SWG Sizes
SWG No. Dia. inch Dia. mm SWG No. Dia. inch Dia. mm SWG No. Dia. inch Dia. mm

7/0 .500 12.7000 13 .092 2.2368 32 .0108 0.2743

6/0 .464 11.7856 14 .080 2.0320 33 .0100 0.2540

5/0 .432 10.9728 15 .072 1.8288 34 .0092 0.2337

4/0 .400 10.1600 16 .064 1.6256 35 .0084 0.2134

3/0 .372 9.4488 17 .056 1.4224 36 .0076 0.1930

2/0 .348 8.8392 18 .048 1.2192 37 .0068 0.1727

1/0 .324 8.2296 19 .040 1.0160 38 .0060 0.1524

1 .300 7.6200 20 .036 0.9144 39 .0052 0.1321

2 .276 7.0104 21 .032 0.8128 40 .0048 0.1219

3 .252 6.4008 22 .028 0.7112 41 .0044 0.1118

4 .232 5.8928 23 .024 0.6096 42 .0040 0.1016

5 .212 5.3848 24 .022 0.5588 43 .0036 0.0914

6 .192 4.8768 25 .020 0.5080 44 .0032 0.0813

7 .176 4.4704 26 .018 0.4572 45 .0028 0.0711

8 .160 4.0640 27 .0164 0.4166 46 .0024 0.0610

9 .144 3.6576 28 .0148 0.3759 47 .0020 0.0580

10 .128 3.2512 29 .0136 0.3454 48 .0016 0.0406

11 .116 2.9464 30 .0214 0.3150 49 .0012 0.0305

12 .104 2.6416 31 .0116 0.2946 50 .0010 0.0254

38
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1.00 1.12 1.25 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00 2.24 2.50 2.80 3.15 3.55 4.00 4.50 5.00 5.60 6.30 7.10 8.00 9.00 10.00

R20 Series of Preferred Numbers

12.00
10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
0 5 10 15 20 25
39
 1.12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1.00 1.12 1.25 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00 2.24 2.50 2.80 3.15 3.55 4.00 4.50 5.00 5.60 6.30 7.10 8.00 9.00 10.00

R20 Series of Preferred Numbers

12.00
10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
0 5 10 15 20 25
40
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
R 40 Se r i e s of P r e f e r r e d Numb e r s

1.00 1.06 1.12 1.18 1.25 1.32 1.40 1.50 1.60 1.70 1.80 1.90 2.00 2.12 2.24 2.36 2.50 2.65 2.80 3.00 3.15 3.35 3.55
2. 00
0. 00
0. 00 0.20 0. 40 0 . 60 0. 80 1 . 00 1 . 20

R40 Series of Preferred Numbers

10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
0 10 20 30 40

41
 1.06
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
R 40 Se r i e s of P r e f e r r e d Numb e r s

1.00 1.06 1.12 1.18 1.25 1.32 1.40 1.50 1.60 1.70 1.80 1.90 2.00 2.12 2.24 2.36 2.50 2.65 2.80 3.00 3.15 3.35 3.55
2. 00
0. 00

0. 00 0.20 0. 40 0 . 60 0. 80 1 . 00 1 . 20

R40 Series of Preferred Numbers

10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
0 10 20 30 40

42
 Preferred Number Series

10.00
R5 Series
8.00 R10 Series
6.00 R20 Series
4.00 R40 Series
2.00
0.00
0 10 20 30 40
43
Preferred Numbers NTTF

R5 > R10 > R20 > R40 > R80 ?

44
•R5 @ 1.58 ?

45
•R5 @ 1.58 ?
•R10 @ 1.26 ?

46
•R5 @ 1.58 ?
•R10 @ 1.26 ?
•R20 @ 1.12 ?

47
•R5 @ 1.58 ?
•R10 @ 1.26 ?
•R20 @ 1.12 ?
•R40 @ 1.06 ?
48
R10 Series Doubles every X terms?

49
R10 Series Doubles in every 3 terms

50
R20 Series Doubles in every X terms?

51
R20 Series Doubles in every 6 terms

52
R40 Series Doubles in every X terms?

53
R40 Series Doubles in every 12 terms

54
R5 > R10 > R20 > R40 > R80 ?

55
Preferred Numbers NTTF

Ref: IS: 1076 - 1967

56
Thank You

57