BELTS

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

 Explain the basic concepts of belts. [PO1, LO1] (C2)

 Solve design problem involving belts. [PO2, LO2] (C4)
 Demonstrate the skills and ability to analyze simple design problems under various loading
conditions. [PO3, LO2, SS1] (C5)

Lesson Objectives

 To understand the belts types and characteristics of the belts.

 To determine allowable forces and torque.
 To calculate stresses in the belts.

Flexible Machine Elements

 Two types of drive

i. Rigid drives – gears → direct contact between the driving and driven shaft
ii. Flexible drives - belt, chain, rope and roller chain → intermediate link
between the driving and driven shaft

 The advantages of flexible drives over rigid drive

i. Transmits power over a comparatively long distance
ii. Absorbs shock loads and damps the vibration due to the intermediate ling
long and flexible
iii. Tolerances on centre distance are not critical as compared with the gear
drive
iv. Flexible drive are cheap and maintenance costs are low

 The disadvantages of flexible drives

i. They occupy more space
ii. The velocity ratio is relatively small
iii. In general, the velocity ratio is not constant

 Belts are used to transmit power between two shaft by mean of friction.
 A belts drives consists of three elements→ driving and driven pulleys and an
endless belt
 Belts drives offer following advantages compared with other types of drives

i. They are simple in design.

ii. .
They are low initial cost
iii. They have ability to absorb the shocks and damp vibration
iv. The operation of belt drive is smooth and silent
v. They are highly efficient (90–98%, usually 95%). Some misalignment is
tolerable.

 The disadvantages of belts drive compared with other types of drives

i. Belts drives have large dimension and occupy more space

ii. The velocity is not constant due to belt slip
iii. They impose heavy load on shaft and bearing
iv. There is considerable loss of power resulting low efficiency
v. Belt drives have comparatively short service life

 Types of belts drives

i. Open belt drive

ii. Cross belt drive

Type of Drive Belt

1. Flat

Flat belt pulley

i. Rectangular in cross section mounted on pulleys

ii. Crowning on the pulley to prevent the belt from running off the pulley

 Flat belt offer following advantages over V belt

i. They are relatively cheap and easy to maintain. They do not require
precise alignment on shaft and pulley and easy to replace
ii. Different velocity ratios can be obtained by using a steeped pulley
iii. They can be used long center distance even up to 15m
iv. The efficiency of flat belts drive is more than V belt drive

 The disadvantages of flat belts drive over V belt

i. Power transmitting capacity is low

ii. The velocity ratio is low
iii. Large dimension and occupy more space
iv. Generate more noise than V belt
v. Flat belt drives are horizontal not vertical

 Applications of flat belts: belts conveyor, baking machinery, brick and clay
machinery, crushers, saw mills and bucket elevators
2. Vee

 V belts have a trapezoidal cross section

 Designed to ride inside the groove of the pulley or sheave

 V belts offer following advantages

i. V belts short center distance
ii. They permit high speed reduction even up seven to one
iii. Smooth and quiet operation at high operating speeds
iv. Can operate in any position, horizontal and vertical
v. High power transmitting capacity

 The disadvantages of V belts drive over flat belt

i. The efficiency of V belt is lower than of the flat belt and the creep also
higher
ii. The construction of V groove pulley is complicated and costlier compared
with pulleys of the flat belt
iii. Bending stress increase in the belt cross section and effect the durability

 Application: pumps, fans, blowers and machine tools

3. Round

 The advantages of round belt

i. Round belts can operate over pulley in several different planes. They are
suitable for 900 twist, reverse bends or serpentine drive.
ii. They can stretched over pulley and snapped into the groove very easily so
makes assembly and replacement simple.

 Application: limited to light duties such as dishwasher drives, sewing machine,

vacuum cleaner and light textile machinery

4. Timing

 Cogged belt, that drives the camshaft in an internal-combustion engine

 A timing belt is typically made of rubber with high-tensile fibers running the length
of the belt as tension member.

Timing belt pulley

 Belts Drive

 The friction force on the belt is assumed uniform throughout the arc of contact.

 Tight side tension is greater than slack side tension.

𝐹1 > 𝐹2

 Torque, T
𝑇 = (𝐹1 − 𝐹2 )𝑟1 … … … 𝑁𝑚
𝐹1 = Tight side tension
𝐹2 = slack side tension
𝑟1 = radius pulley 1

 Linear velocity of the belt drive

𝑚
𝑉 = 𝜋𝑑1 𝑛1 … … . . ( )
𝑠
𝑑1 =diameter pulley 1
𝑛1 = speed pulley 1

 Transmitted Power, P

𝑃 = 2𝜋𝑛1 𝑇 … … … . (𝑊)
Or

P  F1  F2 V
 The speed ratio of the belt drive
𝑟2 𝑛1
=
𝑟1 𝑛2
 *The angle , 𝛼
𝑟2 − 𝑟1
sin 𝛼 =
𝑐
C= center distance

 *Contact angle on the small pulley or the angle of wrap

Ø𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 = 𝜋 − 2𝛼 … . (𝑟𝑎𝑑)
 *Contact angle on the big pulley
Ø𝑏𝑖𝑔 = 𝜋 + 2𝛼 … . . (𝑟𝑎𝑑)

 **Belt length or pitch length

L  2c   r2  r1   r2  r1 2
1
c
Belt tension relationships

 *** Centrifugal force, Fc represents the inertia effect of the belt.

𝑤 2
𝐹𝑐 = 𝑉 … … … (𝑁)
𝑔
Or
𝑭𝒄 = 𝝆𝑨𝑽𝟐 … … … (𝑵)
w= belt weight in N/m
g = 9.81 m/s2
ρ= density of belt, kg/m3
A= cross sectional area of belt, m2

 ****Flat or round belt drives

𝐹1 − 𝐹𝑐
= 𝑒 𝑓Ø
𝐹2 − 𝐹𝑐
 V-belt drives
 𝐹1 − 𝐹𝑐 𝑓Ø
=𝑒 𝛽
sin
𝐹2 − 𝐹𝑐
β=include angle

 Maximum Stress
𝐹𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝜎= 𝑁/𝑚2
𝐴

 The power losses in the belt drive are made up of following factors

i. Power loss due to belt creep on the pulley

ii. Internal friction between the particles of the belts in alternate bending and
unbending over the pulley
iii. Aerodynamic resistance to the motion of pulley and belt
iv. Friction in the bearings of pulleys.

Belt constructions

 The desirable properties of belt materials are as follow

i. Should have high coefficient of friction with the pulleys
ii. Should have high tensile strength to withstand belt tensions
iii. High wear resistance
iv. High flexible and low rigidity in bending order to avoid bending stresses
while passing from pulley

 Belts are made of leather, canvas, rubber or rubberized fabric and syntheric
materials
 * and **

Figure open belt drive

Ø𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 = wrap angle on small pulley

Ø𝑏𝑖𝑔 = wrap angle on big pulley

r2 = radius big pulley
r1 = diameter small pulley
c = center distance

*
Draw a line og perpendicular to line o1c. The area ocgb is a rectangular
ob = gc

From the triangle ogo1,

𝑜1 𝑔 𝑜1 𝑐 − 𝑔𝑐 𝑜1 𝑐 − 𝑜𝑏 𝑟2 − 𝑟1
sin 𝛼 = = = =
𝑜𝑜1 𝑜𝑜1 𝑜𝑜1 𝑐

**
𝐿 = 𝑎𝑟𝑐(𝑓𝑎𝑏) + 𝑏𝑐 + 𝑎𝑟𝑐(𝑐𝑑𝑒) + 𝑒𝑓
𝐿 = 𝑟1 Ø𝑠 + 0𝑔 + 𝑟2 Ø𝑏 + 𝑜𝑔
𝐿 = 𝑟1 (𝜋 − 2𝛼) + 𝐶 cos 𝛼 + 𝑟2 (𝜋 + 2𝛼) + 𝐶 cos 𝛼

𝐿 = 𝜋(𝑟2 + 𝑟1 ) + 2𝛼(𝑟2 − 𝑟1 ) + 2𝐶 cos 𝛼 … … … … … 𝑒𝑞𝑛(1)

For small value of 𝛼
𝑟2 − 𝑟1
𝛼 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛼 =
𝑐
𝛼 𝛼2 (𝑟2 − 𝑟1 )2
𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛼 = 1 − 2𝑠𝑖𝑛2 ( ) = 1 − ( ) = 1 −
2 2 2𝐶 2
Sub into eqn (i)

𝑟2 − 𝑟1 (𝑟2 − 𝑟1 )2
𝐿 = 𝜋(𝑟2 + 𝑟1 ) + 2[ ](𝑟2 −𝑟1 ) + 2𝐶[1 − ]
𝑐 2𝑐 2
2(𝑟2 − 𝑟1 )2 (𝑟2 − 𝑟1 )2
𝐿 = 𝜋(𝑟2 + 𝑟1 ) + + 2𝐶 −
𝑐 𝑐
(𝑟2 − 𝑟1 )2
𝐿 = 2𝐶 + 𝜋(𝑟2 + 𝑟1 ) +
𝐶

***Centrifugal force, Fc

𝐹𝑐 = 𝑚𝑎
𝑉2
𝐹𝑐 = 𝑚( )
𝑟
𝑚
𝐹𝑐 = ( )𝑉 2
𝑟
Where
𝑚
( ) = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ = 𝑚
𝑟
𝐹𝑐 = 𝑚𝑉 2
𝑊 = 𝑚𝑔 so
𝑤 2
𝐹𝑐 = 𝑉
𝑔
w= belt weight perunit length…..N/m
g=9.81 m/s2
 Figure belt element on the verge of slipping on small pulley
Where,
F….. loose side
F+ dF….. tight side
𝑑𝑁……normal force
𝑓𝑑𝑁…..friction force

****Considering equilibrium of force in X and Y directions

Forces in X direction
𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝜃
(𝐹 + 𝑑𝐹)𝑐𝑜𝑠 − 𝑓𝑑𝑁 − 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠 =0
2 2
𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝜃
For small value , cos is approximately 1
2 2

(𝐹 + 𝑑𝐹) − 𝑓𝑑𝑁 − 𝐹 = 0
𝑑𝐹 − 𝑓𝑑𝑁 = 0
𝑑𝐹 = 𝑓𝑑𝑁
𝑑𝐹
𝑑𝑁 =
𝑓
Forces in Y direction

𝑑𝜃
𝑑𝑁 + 𝐹𝑐 𝑑𝜃 − (𝐹 + 𝑑𝐹 + 𝐹)𝑠𝑖𝑛 =0
2
𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝜃
For small value , sin is approximately
2 2 2

𝑑𝜃
𝑑𝑁 + 𝐹𝑐 𝑑𝜃 − (𝐹 + 𝑑𝐹 + 𝐹) =0
2
𝑑𝐹 𝑑𝜃 𝑑𝜃
+ 𝐹𝑐 𝑑𝜃 − 2𝐹 − 𝑑𝐹 =0
𝑓 2 2
𝑑𝜃
Neglecting the differential of second order, 𝑑𝐹 =0
2

𝑑𝐹
+ 𝐹𝑐 𝑑𝜃 − 𝐹𝑑𝜃 = 0
𝑓
𝑑𝐹
−(𝐹𝑐 − 𝐹)𝑑𝜃 =
𝑓
𝑑𝐹
𝑓𝑑𝜃 =
(𝐹 − 𝐹𝑐 )
Integrating from minimum tension F2 to maximum tension F1
𝐹1
𝑑𝐹 Ø
∫ = ∫ 𝑓𝑑𝜃
𝐹2 (𝐹 − 𝐹𝑐 ) 0

𝐹1 − 𝐹𝑐
𝑙𝑛 = 𝑓Ø
𝐹2 − 𝐹𝑐
𝐹1 − 𝐹𝑐
= 𝑒𝑓Ø
𝐹2 − 𝐹𝑐