Belt Drives

Speed reducers are employed almost

invariably to amplify torque rather than to
reduce speed. The two most common
speed reduction mechanisms in industry
are belts (usually V-belts) and gears -
though chains, hydrostatic transmissions
or other drives may be used.
The efficiencies of belts are generally less
than those of gears - that is why belts are
not found in the main drive train of road
vehicles where fuel economy is critical.
However, shock absorption capacity,
distance between shaft centres, accuracy
required of shafts and mountings, tolerable
vibration levels and so on may also need to
be considered. Advantage of belt drives
lies here
The transfer of power in a belt drive on the
other hand relies critically on friction.
The tensions Fmin & Fmax in the
two strands ( the nominally straight parts
of the belt not in contact with the pulleys )
cause a normal pressure over the belt-
pulley contact, and it is the corresponding
distributed friction whose moment about
the pulley centre equilibrates the shaft
torque T - provided gross slip of the belt
on the pulley surface does not occur due to
friction breakaway.
The torque ratio equals the ideal ratio ( as
may be seen from the free bodies ),
but creep results in the speed ratio being
less than ideal. Creep - not to be confused
with gross slip - is due to belt elements
changing length as they travel
between Fmin & Fmax, and since the
pulley is rigid then there must be relative
motion between belt element and pulley.


Historically, flat belts
made from joined hides
were first on the scene,
however modern flat
belts are of composite
construction with cord
reinforcement. They are
particularly suitable for
high speeds.
Classical banded ( ie.
covered ) V-belts
comprise cord tensile
members located at
the pitch line,
embedded in a
relatively soft matrix
which is encased in a
wear resistant cover..
Each component of a
V-belt performs a
particular function. The
main load- carrying
elements are the
tensile members, often
in the form of
longitudinally stiff
nylon/rayon cords
located near the
centroidal axis of the
belt's cross-section,
These cords are embedded in a
relatively soft elastomeric matrix
whose main purpose is to channel the
load from the contacts with the groove
sides into the tensile members.
The groove semi-angle lies usually in
the range 17
o
19
o
. It should be
noted that there is a gap ie. no
contact at the bottom of the groove
The wedging action
of a V-belt in a
pulley groove
results in a drive
which is more
compact than a flat
belt drive, but short
centre V-belt drives
are not conducive to
shock absorption.
Modern materials allow cut belts to
dispense with a separate cover. The
belt illustrated also incorporates slots
on the underside known as cogging
which alleviate deleterious bending
stresses as the belt is forced to
conform to pulley curvature. Cogging
should not be confused with the teeth
on timing belts
Synchronous or timing belt drives
are positive rather than friction drives
as they rely on gear- like teeth on
pulley and belt enabled by modern
materials and manufacturing
methods. They are mentioned here
only for completeness - we shall not
examine them further.
V-belts are available in a number of
standard cross-sectional sizes, designated
in order of increasing size A, B, etc, while
wedge belts are designated variously as
SPA, SPB, etc (or , etc in the US). Each
size is suitable for a particular power range
as suggested by the carpet diagrams. The
regions of applicability for the various sizes
in these diagrams overlap substantially.
As the belts are endless, only certain
discrete standard pitch lengths are
manufactured. The power demand very
often necessitates a number of matched
belts on multi-grooved pulleys, as
illustrated above.
Discrete dimensions apply also to off- the-
shelf pulleys, which are available only with
certain recommended pitch diameters
and number of grooves.
A special pulley may be manufactured
of course - but would cost more than
a mass- produced commercial
product. A pulley is referred to by its
pitch diameter - other dimensions
including its OD are available from
suppliers' manuals which should be
consulted also for local availability.

A drive comprises two pulleys, potentially
with different values of , , and -
although the slack and tight strand tensions
are common to both pulleys. The maximum
tension ratio which the drive can support
without slip on either of the two pulleys is
therefore :

3) ( Fmax - v
2
) / ( Fmin - v
2
)
e
( f)min

where f cosec and (
)min = min ( (f)1 , (f)2 )
If f is the same for both pulleys, as is
usual when both pulleys are grooved, then
the smaller pulley will be limiting since 1
< 2 , but this does not necessarily apply
to V-flat drives (see below).

V-belts are available in a number of
standard cross-sectional sizes, designated
in order of increasing size A, B, etc, while
wedge belts are designated variously as
SPA, SPB, etc (or , etc in the US). Each
size is suitable for a particular power range
as suggested by the carpet diagrams. The
regions of applicability for the various sizes
in these diagrams overlap substantially.

As the belts are endless, only certain discrete
standard pitch lengths are manufactured. The
power demand very often necessitates a number
of matched belts on multi-grooved pulleys, as
illustrated above.
Discrete dimensions apply also to off- the- shelf
pulleys, which are available only with certain
recommended pitch diameters and number of
grooves. A special pulley may be manufactured of
course - but would cost more than a mass-
produced commercial product. A pulley is referred
to by its pitch diameter - other dimensions
including its OD are available from suppliers'
manuals which should be consulted also for local
availability.
Drive selection
Input to the V-belt drive selection
process is the drive specification
which defines :
the power capacity of the drive and
the small pulley's shaft speed (rev/s)
Limits of pulley centre distance - once
again the designer may have to define a
tolerable band around a sole nominal value
or, lacking even this, around 2D
1
( R+1)
Limits of acceptable belt fatigue life: it is
rare for these to be stated explicitly, and
the designer may have to adopt limits in
line with the duty (see the table here) and
economic belt replacement frequency, or
with the usual commercial expectation of
26 kh.

Drive selection involves choice of size (B,
SPA etc) number and pitch length of the
belt(s), and diameters of the two pulleys.
As the design equations cannot be solved
in closed form, and since many parameters
are discrete, a trial- and- error selection
process must be adopted. The steps
illustrated below form a useful framework
for this, and should be read from top to
bottom.
The process starts with the choice
of a suitable belt size - aided by a
carpet diagram - with belt
properties from Table 1 and with
corresponding lists of readily
available belt lengths and pulley
diameters.
If a single V-belt is inadequate for
power transmission then multiple
belts and corresponding multi-
grooved pulleys are necessary - this
pulley is equipped with a tapered
bush for axle clamping without the
stress concentration associated with a
key.
The rather extreme short-centre drive
on the left illustrates a problem with
multiple belts - how to ensure
equitable load sharing between
flexible belts whose as-manufactured
dimensional tolerances are
significantly looser than those of
machined components for example.
Two types of belt for avoiding
mismatched lengths are shown :
The smaller pulley diameter is next
selected, and is usually taken as
small as possible to reduce
potential pulley costs - consistent
with acceptable belt life and
effectivness. Belt speed and
bounds on large pulley diameter
follow from the desired speed ratio
limits and equations ( 1) ie. Rmin
D1 D2 Rmax D1 .

If feasible, a large pulley D
2
is next
chosen from the diameters available within
this range, and belt pitch length
limits Lmin , Lmax corresponding to the
stated centre distance limits Cmin , Cmax
worked out from ( 2a). If feasible, a belt
length Lmin L Lmax is next chosen
from the lengths available, and the
geometry finalised via ( 2b), ( 2c).

The sole design parameter which now
remains to be chosen is the number
of belts, z. Rather than follow the
scheme by working out limits to the
number of belts consistent with stated
life constraints, it is probably easier
just to choose various belt numbers
on a trial- and- error basis and
evaluate belt life from ( 5a) until a
suitable life eventuates.

Fatigue loading and Belt life
Every cross-section of the belt is
subjected alternately to the strand
tensions Fmax and Fmin and
therefore undergoes fatigue. These
tensions at least must be detemined
before fatigue can be addressed.
In addition to the direct stress in the belt
due to the peak tension, Fmax , belt wrap
around a pulley causes bending stresses.
Invoking elastic bending theory, bending
max = ymax E/R where R is the bending
radius here. Bending stress is thus
inversely proportional to pulley diameter D
- and although the belt will probably not
behave elastically, this proportionality is a
reasonable measure of damaging bending
effects.
o
fat
= endurance limit corresponding to
the number of loadings No
determined from the mean fatigue
curve
o
max
= maximum stress induced in
the belt
u. = bending frequency of the belt
= V/Lp
a = number of pulleys in the drive
Belt Life Determination
Modified procedure enables to
determine the belt life by a simple
relation using Minors cumulative
damage theory in which at each
amplitude of loading the damage is
proportional to the cycle ratio which is
the ratio of actual number of stressing
to the total number of stressing for
failure at that amplitude
So for each revolution two stress
peaks are encountered and hence
the total damage D=

1 2
b b
P
K K
N
T T
| | | |
= +
| |
\ . \ .
Here T
1
is the first stress peak and is
given by
F
1
+(F
b
)1 = F
1
+ (K
b
)/d
And T
2
= F
2
+(F
b
)2 = F
2
+ (K
b
)/D

Kb from 17-16 Table
The estimated life in hours =
6
3.6(10 )
P P
N L
V
Design Considerations
(P/z),load power per belt
(v) velocity
(D1 , D2 ), dimensions pulley diameters
(L) belt length and
(k) friction/arc factor
material ie. belt section and corresponding
properties (F, M, , m) from Table 1
degree of safety or more appropriately in
a fatigue situation, the drive life (T)
Specification Set
Belt Specification Section , Inside
length
Number of belts to be used j or N
b
Sheave diameters d and D
Center to Center distance C (actual)
Initial Tension Fi
Decision Set
Small sheave dia d
Large sheave dia D
Center distance
Belt cross section
Belt Length
Number of belts




Adequacy assessment
Factor of safety meets the minimum
goal
Belt speed in the optimum range
Center distance variation within
acceptable limit
Belt life meets the durability goal
Provision to sustain the initial tension


load power per belt (P/z), velocity (v)

dimension
s
pulley diameters (D
1
, D
2
), belt length (L) and
friction/arc factor (k

)

material
ie. belt section and corresponding properties
(F, M, , m) from Table 1

degree of
safety
or more appropriately in a fatigue situation,
the drive life (T)
The design power input to the
selection process must incorporate a
duty factor to allow for shock, high
starting torques and other expected
non-uniformities :-
( iii) design power = actual
nominal power duty factor (from the
table below eg.)
The basic rating, Po, is defined as the power
capacity of a single belt of a particular size in a 1:1
drive, whose length is the reference length and
whose life is the reference life.
Thus, from ( 5b) :
P =k v [ F ( Lo / 2 v To )1/m - M/D - v2 ] ;
and using ( iv) :-

( v) Po v [ K1 - K2/D - K3v2 - K4 log(v) ]


The steps in designing with typical belt
tables are as follows :-
Determine the design power
design power = actual power service
factor
where the tabulated service factor is a
combination of the above duty factor, and
a life factor which caters for lives other
than the reference life.
Select an appropriate belt size, guided by
the carpet diagram of design power
versus small pulley speed. This diagram is
indicative, not prescriptive.
Ascertain the power rating of a single
belt of that size; this is a tabulated function
of belt speed and small pulley diameter as
noted above, the tabulation also making
provision for the large pulley diameter by
approximations similar to ( iv).
The arc factor, again tabulated, caters
for contact arcs other than 180
o
on the
small pulley; it is just the ratio k /k .
A length factor reflects the effect of a
belt length other than the reference
length; again the factor is tablulated.
The number of necessary belts of that
particular size follows from :
belt number design power / ( belt
power rating arc factor length factor )

The general equation of belt service
life can be written thu
x 3600ua H = a7N0
whence the belt service life is
N0 (--h (14.20)
3600ua \maxJ
where N0 = base of fatigue tests
assumed equal to 1O cycles

o
fat
= endurance limit corresponding to
the number of loadings No
determined from the mean fatigue
curve
o
max
= maximum stress induced in
the belt
u. = bending frequency of the belt
= V/Lp
a = number of pulleys in the drive