Belt Drive Basics

Prof Sumit Suresh Malusare

Finolex Academy Of Management & Technology, Ratnagiri
Advantages of Belt drives
• Belt drives are cost-effective. New belt drive efficiency can be up to
95-98 percent
• They are simple to use
• Different speeds can be obtained by means of step or tapered pulleys
• They come with overload and jam protection
• When the distance between shafts is very large, belt drives are the
most economical options
• Damp out noise and vibration
• Load fluctuations are shock-absorbed, increasing the machinery life
Limitations of belt drives
• Belt drives are not compact
• Limited speed of around 35 meters per second
• Compared to other mode power transmission, they have a short life
service
• Typically, its operating temperatures are restricted to –35 to 85°C
• Angular velocity of belt drives isn’t constant. This leads to stretching,
slipping, and wearing of belt
• For wearing and stretching compensation, they additionally need an
idler pulley or some adjustment of center distance
• The velocity ratio varies because of belt slip
 Classification of belt drives
• Used for moderate power transmission at longer distance up to 10
meters
Flat belt • It can transmits power through parallel and intersecting shafts also

• Used for heavy power transmission at comparatively lesser

distances up to 3 meters
V belt • It can transmits power in parallel shafts only

• Used for power transmissions for comparatively longer distance

power transmissions
Rope drive • It can transmits power in parallel and intersecting shafts also
Comparison between flat belt and V belt
Parameter Flat Belt V Belt
Shafting Condition All Shafting condition Only parallel shafting
Type of belting Open and cross both Open only
Overall size More Less
Power transmission under similar lesser More due to wedging action
dimensional conditions
Life Higher Comparatively lesser
Types of pulleys Simple flat pulleys Grooved pulleys
Belt Joints That may be mechanical type or Endless belts
vulcanised
Maintenance cost Lesser Higher since entire sent of belts
should be replaced
Types of belt Drives
Open belt drive Cross belt drive

Direction pulleys are in same Direction of rotation of pulleys are

direction in opposite direction

Angle of lap on driving pulley is less Angle of lap on driving pulley is

than 180 ° greater than 180 °

Under similar conditions power Under similar conditions power

transmission capacity is lesser transmission capacity is higher

Life is comparatively higher since Life is comparatively higher since

stress reversals are less stress reversals are more

It can be used for larger central It can be used for smaller central
distances distances

It can used to drive only in one It can be used to drive in both

direction efficiently directions efficiently
 Types of belt Drives
Quarter turn drives
• Those drove also known as right angle belt drives
• This arrangement can be obtained by obeying low of belting
and implementing idler pulleys
Types of belt drives
• Belt drives with idler pulleys
• Such pulleys are used to increase the tension in the belt at some situations
• Such pulleys are also used to supply a power to multiple applications with
single belt drive
Types of belt drives
• Compound belt drives
• Power is transmitted to output shaft through a number of pulleys
• Velocity ratio is such that

𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦𝑠

=
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦𝑠
Types of belt drives
Stepped or cone pulley
• Used to changing speed of
driven shaft while driving shaft
rotates at constant speed
Fast and loose pulley
• Used to start or stop driven shaft
without disturbing driving shaft
Basics of Belt Drive
• Slip of Belt • Creep Of Belt
• Insufficient frictional grip between belt • When the belt passes from the slack side
and pulley results in forward motion of to the tight side, a certain portion of the
driver pulley without belt and forward belt extends and it contracts again when
motion of belt without carrying driven the belt passes from the tight side to
pulley. This phenomena is called as slip of slack side. Due to these changes of
belt and expressed in terms of length, there is a relative motion
percentage between the belt and the pulley surfaces.
• This results in reduction in velocity ratio This relative motion is termed as creep
and expressed as • Considering creep, the velocity ratio is
𝑁2 𝐷1 𝑆1 + 𝑆2 given by
= 1− 𝑁2 𝐷1 𝐸 + 𝜎2
𝑁1 𝐷2 100 =
𝑁1 𝐷2 𝐸 + 𝜎1
• Where 𝑆1 And 𝑆2 are percentage slip
on driving and driven pulleys • Where 𝜎1 and 𝜎2 are stresses in tight
respectively side and slack side respectively and E
is young's modulus for belt material
Length of belt and angle of Wrap
• For open belt drive
𝑟1 −𝑟2 2
•𝐿= 𝜋 𝑟1 + 𝑟2 + 2𝑥 +
𝑥
𝜋 𝐷1 −𝐷2 2
•𝐿= 𝐷1 + 𝐷2 + 2𝑥 +
2 4𝑥
Angle of wrap
• On driving pulley
𝑟1 −𝑟2
• 180° − 2 sin−1
𝑥
• On driven pulley
𝑟1 −𝑟2
• 180° + 2 sin−1
𝑥
Length of belt and angle of Wrap
• For Cross belt drive
𝑟1 +𝑟2 2
•𝐿= 𝜋 𝑟1 + 𝑟2 + 2𝑥 +
𝑥
𝜋 𝐷1 +𝐷2 2
•𝐿= 𝐷1 + 𝐷2 + 2𝑥 +
2 4𝑥
Angle of wrap
• On driving pulley and driven pulley
𝑟1 −𝑟2
• 180° + 2 sin−1
𝑥
Power transmitted by belt drive
• 𝑃 = 𝑇1 − 𝑇2 𝑉 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠 • Ratio of tensions on belt
• For flat belt
𝑇1
• = 𝑒 𝜇𝜃
𝑇2
• For V belt drive
𝜇𝜃
𝑇1 ( )
• = 𝑒 sin 𝛼
𝑇2
• Where
• 𝜇 -: Coefficient of friction between
belt and pulley
• 𝜃 -: Angle of lap in Radians
• 𝛼 -: Semi groove angle in case of V
belt drive
Technical terms in case of belt drive
• Centrifugal tension in belt drive
• Since the belt continuously runs over the pulleys, therefore, some centrifugal
force is caused, whose effect is to increase the tension on both, tight as well
as the slack sides. The tension caused by centrifugal force is called centrifugal
tension.
• 𝑇𝑐 = 𝑚𝑉 2 Where m is mass per unit length of belt drive and V is linear
velocity of belt
• Centrifugal tension has no effect on power transmission
• Maximum tension in belt
• 𝑇 = 𝜎 × 𝑏 × 𝑡 where 𝜎 is the maximum safe stress for belt material
• Condition for maximum power transmission in belt drive
• 𝑇 = 3 × 𝑇𝑐 and
𝑇
•𝑉=
3𝑚
Initial Tension in the Belt
• When a belt is wound round the two pulleys (i.e. driver and follower),
its two ends are joined together ; so that the belt may continuously
move over the pulleys, since the motion of the belt from the driver
and the follower is governed by a firm grip, due to friction between
the belt and the pulleys.
• In order to increase this grip, the belt is tightened up. At this stage,
even when the pulleys are stationary, the belt is subjected to some
tension, called initial tension.
𝑇1 +𝑇2
• 𝑇0 =
2
𝑇1 +𝑇2 +2𝑇𝑐
• 𝑇0 = Considering centrifugal tension
2
Material used for Belts
• Leather belts
• The best leather belts are made from 1.2 meters to 1.5 meters long strips cut
from either side of the back bone of the top grade steer hides. The hair side
of the leather is smoother and harder than the flesh side, but the flesh side is
stronger
• The fibers on the hair side are perpendicular to the surface, while those on
the flesh side are interwoven and parallel to the surface.
• The leather may be either oak-tanned or mineral salt tanned e.g. chrome
tanned. In order to increase the thickness of belt, the strips are cemented
together. The belts are specified according to the number of layers
• The leather belts must be periodically cleaned and dressed or treated with a
compound or dressing containing neat's foot or other suitable oils so that the
belt will remain soft and flexible.
Material used for Belts…..
• Cotton or fabric belts
• Most of the fabric belts are made by folding canvass or cotton duck to three or more
layers (depending upon the thickness desired) and stitching together.
• These belts are woven also into a strip of the desired width and thickness.
• They are impregnated with some filler like linseed oil in order to make the belts water
proof and to prevent injury to the fibers.
• Since the cotton belts require little attention, therefore these belts are mostly used in
farm machinery, belt conveyor etc
• Rubber belt
• The rubber belts are made of layers of fabric impregnated with rubber composition
and have a thin layer of rubber on the faces.
• These belts are very flexible but are quickly destroyed if allowed to come into contact
with heat, oil or grease.
• These belts are found suitable for saw mills, paper mills where they are exposed to
moisture
Material used for Belts…..
• Balata belts
• These belts are similar to rubber belts except that balata gum is used in place
of rubber
• These belts are acid proof and water proof and it is not effected by animal oils
or alkalis
• The balata belts should not be at temperatures above 40° C because at this
temperature the balata begins to soften and becomes sticky
Construction of Flat belt drives
• The simplest type of belt is the flat belt. It
has a rectangular cross-section and was
often made of leather in the early days.
Today, however, steel or high-strength
synthetic materials such as polyamide or
aramide are used for tension cords.
• These force-transmitting cords are
embedded in a rubber core between a top
cover and a bottom cover
• The bottom layer where the belt has
contact with the pulley, can be coated with
special rubber to increase friction and
wear resistance. The top layer on the
opposite side only has a protective
function.
Construction of V belt drives
• The wedge-shaped cross-section leads to high
frictional forces on the flanks due to the
“wedge effect”.
• Classical” V-belts are standardized in Germany
according to DIN 2215 and have a height to
width ratio of 1:1.6. Tension cords made of
steel, aramid, polyester or glass are embedded
in an elastomer core covered by a top layer.
• The tension cords run at the level of the
nominal width (neutral axis).
• Double V-belts are basically two V-belts, that
are put on top of each other. Both sides of the
belt can therefore be used to transmit power
Belt Joints

• Cemented
joint
• Laced joint
• Hinged joint.
Cemented Joint
Stresses in belt drive
• 𝜎𝑐 -:Stress due to
centrifugal tension acting
on belt throughout the
length of belt
• 𝜎𝑇1 & 𝜎𝑇2 -: Stress due to
tensions on tight side and
slack side respectively
• 𝜎𝑏1 & 𝜎𝑏2 -: Stress due to
bending of belt in driving
and driven pulleys
respectively
Stress distribution
diagram for belt drive
• 𝜎𝑐 = 𝜌𝑉 2 × 10−6 𝑁Τ𝑚𝑚2
• Where 𝜌 is density of belt material
and 𝑉 is linear velocity of belt
𝑇
• 𝜎𝑇 = 𝑁Τ𝑚𝑚2
𝑏 ×𝑡
• Where T is tension in belt
• b is belt width
• t is thickness of belt
𝐸×𝑡
• 𝜎𝑏 = 𝑁Τ𝑚𝑚2
𝐷
• Where E is young's modulus of belt
material
• t is thickness of belt
• D is diameter of pulley
Thank You..
Prof Sumit Suresh Malusare
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
Finolex Academy of Management and Technology, Ratnagiri
sumitsmalusare@gmail.com
sumit.malusare@famt.ac.in
9403098168

Prof Sumit S Malusare,FAMT,Ratnagiri