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Influence of Clearance Between Plates in Metal Pushing V-Belt Dynamics

Article  in  Journal of Mechanical Design · September 2002

DOI: 10.1115/1.1486015

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G. Carbone
e-mail: g.carbone@dimeg.poliba.it
L. Mangialardi
e-mail: lmm@dimeg.poliba.it
G. Mantriota
e:mail: mantriota@poliba.it
Dipartimento di Ingegneria
Meccanica e Gestionale,
Politecnico di Bari,
V.le Japigia 182,
70126 Bari, Italy
Influence of Clearance Between
Plates in Metal Pushing V-Belt
Dynamics
This paper proposes a one-dimensional continuous model of the steel pushing V-belt,
which describes the shifting dynamics of the CVT transmission during rapid speed ratio
variations. The model investigates the influence of the clearance among the steel segments
on the belt dynamics. The plates and pulleys strain motion is neglected, with respect to
their rigid body motion, for the evaluation of the friction forces. The power transmission
is assured only if an active arc exists where the plates are pressed against each other and
where compressive forces arise among the steel segments. Conversely on the idle arc the
steel plates are separated and no longitudinal compressive forces exist among the metal
segments. The paper shows a significant difference in dynamical behavior between the
drive and the driven pulley. Moreover, differences also exist between the pitch radius
increasing phases and pitch radius decreasing phases. 关DOI: 10.1115/1.1486015兴

Introduction speed ratio relative to time, Kanehara et al. 关17,18兴 characterized

A Continuously Variable Transmission 共CVT兲 is a power trans-
mission device whose speed ratio can be varied in a continuous
manner. There are many kinds of CVTs having different charac-
teristics but the V-belt CVTs are the most applicable in automotive
practice. When compared with a torque converter, a V-belt CVT
can be expected to have a higher transmission efficiency. CVTs
are widely used in agricultural vehicles, mini cars and motor-
cycles. Metal pushing V-belt and metal chain CVTs have been
developed for automotive applications. In this field CVT transmis-
sions have an advantage as they are able to vary the speed ratio
under loaded conditions without the necessity to disengage the
engine by means of the friction clutch.
Nowadays more and more attention is placed on vehicle com-
fort, fuel economy and low environmental impact. To achieve this
objective, a continuously variable transmission 共CVT兲 could be
helpful. But the development of an optimum CVT control strategy
is not an easy task owing to two partially opposite features that
have to be satisfied: the reduction of fuel consumption and the
requirement of an appropriate drivability.
An accurate and fast control of the rate of change of the speed
ratio is, indeed, a prerequisite to reach these goals and several
researchers have been studying different solutions to optimize the
control strategy of the transmission and its performances 关1– 4兴.
But this advanced control strategy needs an accurate model of the
transmission shifting dynamics, able to foresee the actual clamp-
ing forces needed to change the axial position of the pulleys and
therefore the CVT speed ratio.
Owing to its potential benefits, new solutions are being studied
in order to extend the application of the transmission to high
power systems, such as city buses, high displacement cars,
light trucks 关5,6兴, and wind power systems 关7–9兴. Moreover
several investigations are being conducted on the Infinitely Vari-
able Transmission 共IVT兲, whose main components are the CVU
共continuously variable unit兲, a fixed ratio gear and a planetary
gear 关10兴.
Several researchers have been studying CVUs, but their work,
generally, concerns the steady-state dynamics of V-belt CVT 关11–
15兴. Not many works are concerned with the transient dynamics
of the CVU: experimental investigations were made by Ide et al.
关16兴 which derived a differential equation to describe the trend of
Contributed by the Mechanisms and Robotics Committee for publication in the
JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received December 2000. Associ-
ate Editor: M. Raghavan.
the shifting dynamics by means of a suitable mean friction coef-
ficient, which identifies the slip condition of the belt, i.e., the
extension of the active arc on the pulley, and by using the shifting
gradient parameter.
In order to avoid the possibility of global sliding between the
belt and the pulley, the clamping forces on the half-pulleys are, in
some operative conditions, too large with negative consequences
on the transmission’s efficiency. This consideration suggests a fur-
ther investigation into the mechanics of the CVU shifting phases
in order to take another step towards the knowledge of the best
clamping forces, which could maximize the transmission’s effi-
ciency in every operative conditions. In a previous work 关19兴,
theoretical investigation of the shifting dynamics of the metal
V-belt had been carried out to derive a relationship between mac-
roscopic quantities easily measurable, as for example the clamp-
ing force and the transmitted torque. But no consideration had
been made about the influence of the clearance among the steel
segments. This paper investigates the shifting behavior of the
metal pushing V-belt by taking into account the effects of the
clearance between the steel segments and a one-dimensional con-
tinuous model of the belt is developed. Since we are primarily
interested in rapid pitch radius changes, the evaluation of the rela-
tive velocity 共sliding velocity兲 between the segments and the pul-
ley is done without considering the influence of their strain mo-
tion, which is neglected with respect to their rigid body motion.
In steady state operation this means that the relative motions of
the belt are purely tangentially directed on the active arc, and that
the Euler’s equation can be used on this arc: Gerbert 关13兴 demon-
strated this being almost true for all practical purposes 共3⫼4 mm
of the total clearance among the steel plates兲.
Initial Consideration and Main Hypotheses Placed
Figure 1 shows the metal pushing V-belt structure: the steel
wedge-shaped plates, supported by the steel band, are visible; the
belt’s construction makes it very flexible so that the bending stiff-
ness of the belt is neglected in this work.
Conversely, the clearance among the steel segments signifi-
cantly affects the dynamics of the CVU transmission during its
shifting phases, so that different dynamical behaviors occur for
the drive and driven pulley during upshifting phases and down-
shifting phases.
Conveniently, this discussion will be split into two parts, the
first one is concerned with the drive pulley and the second one
with the driven one. Figure 2 shows that in steady-state conditions

Journal of Mechanical Design Copyright © 2002 by ASME SEPTEMBER 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 543
 Fig. 1 Metal V-belt assembly
both an idle arc and an active arc exist on the drive pulley. On the
idle arc the clearance among the plates is not zero and no tangen-
tial slip exists between the plates and the pulley; conversely on
the active arc the metal plates are pressed against each other in
order to guarantee the power transmission. The section, which
separates the idle arc from the active arc, is called the ‘‘shock
section’’ because it represents the section where the steel segments
collide to quickly reduce to zero the clearance between them: a
step variation of the longitudinal compressive force between two
adjacent segments and of the sliding tangential velocity occurs.
The active arc extends from the shock section to the exit point,
the tangential blocks’ speed is less than the pulley’s velocity in
order to transmit power and this is consistent with the continuity
equation.
What happens on the driven pulley is not the same; the seg-
ments are not separated and no clearance exists among them 关13兴.
In effect, on the driven pulley the blocks’ speed has to exceed the
pulley’s speed to guarantee, by means of the friction forces, the
power transmission. Hence if the blocks were separated, the fric-
tion forces would force the blocks to decrease their velocity and
the clearance to vanish immediately.
Fig. 2 Belt dynamical behavior: steady-state condition
544 Õ Vol. 124, SEPTEMBER 2002
Obviously on the pushing side of the belt, i.e., between the exit
point of the drive pulley and the entry point of driven one, there is
no clearance among the metal blocks. On the other side, i.e., be-
tween the exit point of the driven pulley and the entry point of the
drive one no compressive forces exist among the plates.
When studying the shifting transient phases, some of the previ-
ous statements do not hold. In effect the kinematical behavior of
the belt changes on the driven pulley where an idle arc, with
clearance among the plates, arises during pitch radius increasing
phases as we will discuss later.
Previous work 关19兴 investigated, theoretically, the shifting dy-
namics of metal V-belts with no clearance among the steel plates
so that the results obtained in that work are no more true when the
clearance among the segments differs from zero and an idle arc
exists: but some similarities could be highlighted. Where the steel
segments are pressed against each other the belt behaves, locally,
as a belt without clearance among the steel plates, thus the differ-
ential equations obtained in the previous work 关19兴 are true on the
active arc. Therefore these equations will be re-proposed in this
work when studying the dynamics of the belt on the active arc.
To develop the theoretical investigation proposed in the paper,
Transactions of the ASME
we suppose small values of the sliding velocity between the steel
segments and the pulley. This seems plausible because, otherwise,
the transmission would have high power dissipation and low du-
rability of the belt. Therefore the calculation of centrifugal forces
acting on the belt will be made by considering the angular veloc-
ity of each belt’s element to be equal to the pulley’s rotating
speed. All the other inertia belt forces are neglected.
Since we developed a one-dimensional model of the belt, the
radial thickness of the belt is neglected as well as the longitudinal
thickness of each steel segments: the clearance between the plates
will be described by introducing the ‘‘kinematical strain’’ ␧ of
the belt.
Surely the power transmission in steel pushing V-belt CVT is
affected by the interaction between the steel band 共Fig. 1兲 and the
metal segments. But different authors assume this influence to be
not significant and therefore assume no interaction between the
band and the segments 关13,14兴. In effect the band behaves as a flat
belt so that the Euler’s equation can be used, namely, by neglect-
ing the centrifugal forces on the band, T 1 /T 2 ⫽e ␮ b ␣ , where ␣ is
the wrap angle of the band and ␮ b ⬵0.01 关15兴, is the friction
coefficient between band and steel segments. Now, assuming, for
example, ␣ ⫽ ␲ , the previous equation yields (T 1 ⫺T 2 )/T 2
⫽0.03, that is to say that the percentage difference between T 1
and T 2 is limited to 3%. Observe that the forces acting at the
interface between the steel segments and the pulleys are larger
than those acting between the band and the steel segments; this
results in a thinner layer of lubrication oil, in a larger shear stress
of the oil film and therefore in a larger friction coefficient, about
0.1 as reported by the oil manufacturers 关20–24兴. This bigger
friction coefficient, about ten times higher than the previous ␮ b as
reported by Sun 关15兴, allows us to neglect the band’s tension
variation along the contact arc without doing a significant error.
The last hypothesis concerns the influence of the strain motion
of the steel segments and pulley on the evaluation of the frictional
forces acting on the steel segments. These friction forces depend
on the relative motion of the steel blocks with respect to the pul-
ley, which, locally, is the sum of a rigid body motion and a strain
motion. Since we are interested in rapid shifting maneuvers, the
influence of the strain motion is not significant compared with that
of the rigid body motion, thus it will be neglected.
Fig. 3 Displacement of the generic belt’s element: active arc
Journal of Mechanical Design
Drive Pulley
In this section we will discuss the mechanics of the steel push-
ing V-belt on the drive pulley where both active arc and an idle
arc exist either in steady-state or transient conditions.
Dynamical Equation on the Active Arc „Drive Pulley…
Where the plates are pressed against each other and longitudi-
nal compressive forces exist the clearance among the plates van-
ishes. The set of equations which describes the dynamics of the
belt is obtained by applying the continuity equation, and the mo-
mentum equations to a generic element of the belt.
Let us consider the generic element of the belt, whose length
is dl⫽Rd ␪ , since the strain motion of the belt is neglected and
no clearance among the plates exist, the length dl must be
constant during the motion, hence (ḋl)⫽0 and by deriving the
previous relation we obtain Ṙ/R ⫹ (ḋ ␪ )/d ␪ ⫽0. Now the prob-
lem is to find an appropriate expression of the term (ḋ ␪ )/d ␪
⫽(1/d ␪ )d(d ␪ )/dt⫽(1/d ␪ )(d ␪ (t⫹dt)⫺d ␪ (t))/dt. By observ-
ing Fig. 3, it follows that:
d ␪ 共 t⫹dt 兲 ⫽ ␪ ⫹d ␪ 共 t 兲 ⫹ ␪˙ 共 ␪ ⫹d ␪ ,t 兲 dt⫺ 共 ␪ ⫹ ␪˙ 共 ␪ ,t 兲 dt 兲
⳵ ␪˙
⫽d ␪ 共 t 兲 ⫹ d ␪ dt
⳵␪
therefore (ḋ ␪ )/d ␪ ⫽ ⳵ ␪˙ / ⳵ ␪ where ␪˙ is the angular velocity of the
belt’s element. Now by introducing the sliding angular velocity
␻ s ⫽ ␪˙ ⫺ ␻ , where ␻ is the pulley’s rotating speed not depending
on the angular co-ordinate ␪, the previous relation becomes:
Ṙ/R ⫹ ⳵␻ s / ⳵ ␪ ⫽0. The last equation can be rearranged to give
the following congruency equation which relates the radial veloc-
ity of the belt, namely, the pitch radius variations of the belt, with
the tangential sliding velocity of the belt:
⳵s
⫹w⫽0 Congruency Equation (1)
⳵␪
where the dimensionless parameters are: the sliding coefficient
s⫽ ␻ s / ␻ and the dimensionless radial velocity w⫽ Ṙ/ ␻ R 关19兴.
SEPTEMBER 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 545
 Fig. 4 Kinematic and dynamical quantities

Now the momentum equations may be written by observing the Dynamical Equations on the Idle Arc „Drive Pulley…
Fig. 4 where the forces acting on the belt’s element are depicted.
The equilibrium of the belt along the tangential and radial direc- Figure 5 indicates with the symbols da, and db the thickness of
tion requires: metal plates and the distance between the front and rear faces of
two adjacent plates respectively, measured along the circle having
1 ⳵ 共 F⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2 兲 ␮ cos ␤ s sin ␥
⫽ radius R. We place ␧⫽ db/da and dl⫽da⫹db where dl is the
F⫺ ␴␻ R2 2
⳵␪ sin ␤ ⫺ ␮ cos ␤ s cos ␥ distance between the rear faces of two adjacent steel blocks. Ob-
and viously dl⫽(1⫹␧)da. We call ␧ the ‘‘kinematical strain’’ of the
F⫺ ␴ R 2 ␻ 2 belt.
p⫽
2R 共 sin ␤ ⫺ ␮ cos ␤ s cos ␥ 兲
where p is the linear pressure on the belt and F⫽T⫺ P is the net
belt tension defined as the difference between the uniform band
tension T(t), which depends only on the time t, and the compres-
sive force P acting on the metal plate.
Let us introduce the following two quantities: ␪ ⫽ ␪ DR * (t) and
F⫽F DR* (t), where ␪ ⫽ ␪ DR * is the angular co-ordinate of the shock
section and F⫽F DR * is the net belt tension at point ␪ ⫽ ␪ DR* ; ob-
serve that, for the drive pulley, this value of net belt tension refers
to a point located shortly after the shock section, since the net belt
tension is not continuous at the shock section.
Now by introducing the dimensionless quantities ␬ ⫽(F
⫺ ␴ R 2 ␻ 2 )/(F DR
* ⫺ ␴ R 2 ␻ 2 ) and the dimensionless linear pressure
p̃⫽ Rp/(F DR * ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2 ), the previous relations can be rewritten
as:
⳵␬ ␮ cos ␤ s sin ␥
⫽ First Momentum Equation
␬ ⳵ ␪ sin ␤ ⫺ ␮ cos ␤ s cos ␥
(2)
␬
p̃⫽ Second Momentum Equation
2 共 sin ␤ ⫺ ␮ cos ␤ s cos ␥ 兲
(3)
Two other relations are needed which correlate the sliding coeffi-
cient s with the sliding angle ␥ and the pulley’s half-opening
angle ␤ s in the sliding plane with the sliding angle ␥ 共see Fig. 4兲.
s⫽w tan ␥ Kinematical Equation (4)
tan ␤ s ⫽tan ␤ cos ␥ Geometric Equation (5)
where ␤ is the half-opening angle of the pulley’s groove. Fig. 5 Clearance among the plates

546 Õ Vol. 124, SEPTEMBER 2002 Transactions of the ASME

 Owing to the assumption of a constant band tension along the T⫺ ␴ idle ␻ 2 R 2
contact arc, it is possible to assert that on the idle arc the tangen- 共 ␬ idle 兲 DR ⫽
* ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2
F DR
tial velocity of the steel segments equates to the pulley’s speed,
thus the friction forces cannot have components along this direc- *
P DR ␧ idle ␴␻ 2 R 2
tion: the dimensionless tension cannot change on the idle arc ⫽1⫹ ⫹ ⬎1 (8)
where the blocks move only outward or inward along the radial * ⫺ ␴␻ R
F DR 2 2 * ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2
1⫹␧ idle F DR
direction. Moreover, on the idle arc, the dimensionless linear pressure as-
Since the clearance among the plates is not zero on the idle arc, sume the following form:
the distance among the plates will vary during the motion, namely
the length of a generic belt’s element is not constant with the time 共 ␬ idle 兲 DR
共 p̃ idle 兲 DR ⫽ (9)
t. Therefore in order to write the congruency equation the deriva- 2 共 sin ␤ ⫿ ␮ cos ␤ 兲
tive of the length dl has to be taken into account. By remembering
where ␴ idle ⫽ ␴ /(1⫹␧ idle) is the linear belt mass on the idle arc
that dl⫽(1⫹␧)da the following relation holds (ḋl)/dl⫽␧˙ /(1 and ␧ idle is the kinematical strain on the idle arc. In Eq. 共9兲 the
⫹␧), therefore the congruency equation becomes ␧˙ /(1⫹␧)
minus sign refers to positive value of Ṙ while the positive sign
⫽Ṙ/R⫹ ⳵␻ s / ⳵ ␪ . But on the idle arc ␻ s ⫽0, namely ␪˙ ⫽ ␻ , hence
refers to Ṙ⬍0. Equation 共8兲 shows that, if the kinematical strain
the previous equation simplifies:
of the belt was uniform on the idle arc, ( ␬ idle ) DR would be uni-

冉 冊
form too. Moreover, owing to no tangential slip between the steel
1 ⳵ ␧ idle ⳵ ␧ idle Ṙ blocks and the pulley, on the idle arc the sliding angle ␥ idle is zero
⫹␻ ⫽ (6)
1⫹␧ idle ⳵t ⳵␪ R for Ṙ⬎0 and equates to ␲ for Ṙ⬍0.
The right hand side of Eq. 共6兲 depends only on the time t owing to
no transversal strain of the steel plates, i.e., the radial position of Dynamical Equation at the Shock Section „Drive Pulley…
blocks is uniform along the belt. This equation admits the follow- The set of equations, previously written, is not enough to de-
ing general solution: scribe the belt dynamics on the drive pulley. In effect other two
relations are needed, which relate the dimensionless slip factor
␧ idle ⫽R f 共 ␪ ⫺ ␻ t 兲 ⫺1 (7) * and the compressive force P DR
s DR * 共shortly after the shock sec-
which is very similar to the wave equation solution with angular tion兲 with the kinematical strain ␧ DR
* 共shortly before the shock
propagation speed ␻. section兲. By applying the law of mass conservation to an infini-
It is possible to demonstrate that for high values of ␻, the tesimal control volume of the belt standing across the shock sec-
kinematical strain ␧ idle is almost uniform on the idle arc, namely tion and moving at the same speed of this section 共Fig. 6兲 we
conclude that:
⳵ ␧ idle / ⳵ ␪ ⬵0, and its value equates to ␧ DR
* which is the kinemati-
cal strain shortly before the shock section.
On the idle arc the plates are separated and this requires no
compressive forces acting on the steel plates, hence the net belt
冉 ␻ R⫺
d ␪ DR
dt
*
R 冊 ␴
*
1⫹␧ DR
冋 * 兲 ␻ R⫺
⫽ 共 1⫹s DR
d ␪ DR
dt
*
册
R ␴

tension equates to the band tension T which, under the hypotheses
placed, is uniform along the contact arc. Since F DR * ⫽T⫺ P DR* ,
where P DR * is the compressive forces acting on the metal plates
shortly after the shock section, we can evaluate the dimensionless
tension ( ␬ idle ) DR on the idle arc as:
Let us observe that the maximum value of the term d ␪ DR * /dt
would equate to the pulley angular velocity ␻ only if a quick
reduction to zero of the transmitting torque should happen: the
sliding velocity would go to zero, along the whole arc of contact,
and the previous equations would yield d ␪ DR
* /dt ⫽ ␻ .

Fig. 6 Shock section dynamics

Journal of Mechanical Design SEPTEMBER 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 547

 By focusing our attention only to slow variations of the trans- Two cases have to be distinguished: w⫽ Ṙ/ ␻ R⬎0 共pitch radius
mitting torque the following assumption holds: 兩 (1/␻ )d ␪ DR
* /dt 兩 increasing兲 and w⬍0 共pitch radius decreasing兲.
Ⰶ1, and by considering that: 兩 s DR
* 兩 Ⰶ1 and ␧ DR
* Ⰶ1, it follows: First Case: wÌ0
When the pitch radius of the belt grows with the time t, the
* ⫹␧ DR
s DR * ⫽0 (10) sliding angle ␥ varies within the range 兴⫺␲/2,0兴 so that cos ␥ is
always positive and it is possible to write cos ␥⫽ 1/冑1⫹tan2 ␥.
Because ␧ DR
* is always positive, the previous equation shows s DR * With this position the first momentum Eq. 共2兲 becomes:
being always negative. This result was foreseeable since the belt
tangential speed has to decrease quickly, once past the shock sec- ⳵␬ ␸
tion, in order to generate negative tangential relative velocity and ⫽
␬ ⳵␸ tan ␤
to allow the power transmission by means of the friction forces 1⫺ 冑1⫹ ␸ 2 cos2 ␤
exchanged between the steel segments and the pulley. ␮
As well as the sliding coefficient s, all the other quantities
共except the uniform band tension T兲, involved in the belt dynam- The previous equation, once ␬ DR
* ⫽1 is substituted, can be inte-
ics, are subjected to a step variation when passing the shock sec- grated analytically to give:
tion. Thus, for example, when Ṙ⬎0, the sliding angle ␥ changes
G 1共 ␸ 兲
abruptly from zero to a negative value ␥ DR * 共shortly after the ␬⫽ (15)
shock section兲, while for Ṙ⬍0 ␥ varies from ␲ to a higher value G 1 共 ⫺tan ␥ DR* 兲
␥ DR
* ⬎␲. where G 1 ( ␸ )⫽e H 1 ( ␸ ) and
By applying the Newton equation to the same control volume
used before 共Fig. 6兲, it is possible to evaluate the magnitude P DR
of the longitudinal compressive force shortly after the shock sec-
tion 共remember that on the idle arc the longitudinal compressive
*
H 1 共 ␸ 兲 ⫽⫺
sin2 ␤ ␮ 冉
␮ 2 tan ␤
冑1⫹ ␸ 2 cos2 ␤

force is zero兲:
冏
⫹ln 1⫺
tan ␤
冑1⫹ ␸ 2 cos2 ␤ 冏冊
冉 冊 冉 冊
␮
*
P DR 1 1 d ␪ DR
* 2
1 d ␪ DR
* 2
⫽ 1⫺ ⫺ 1⫹s DR
* ⫺
␴␻ 2 R 2 *
1⫹␧ DR ␻ dt ␻ dt Second Case: wË0
With the pitch radius decreasing, the sliding angle ␥ varies
and, by following Eq. 共10兲, since 兩 (1/␻ )d ␪ DR
* /dt 兩 Ⰶ1, 兩 s DR
* 兩 Ⰶ1 within the range 关␲,3␲/2关 so that cos ␥ is always negative and it is
and ␧ DR
* Ⰶ1, it follows: possible to write cos ␥⫽⫺ 1/冑1⫹tan2 ␥.
This time the momentum Eq. 共2兲 becomes:
*
P DR
⫽␧ DR
* (11) ⳵␬ ␸
␴␻ 2 R 2
⫽
␬ ⳵␸ tan ␤
The previous relation 共Eq. 共11兲兲 shows a direct proportionality 1⫹ 冑1⫹ ␸ 2 cos2 ␤
between the compressive force P DR* and ␧ DR
* , therefore, since the ␮
kinematical strain ␧ DR
* is always small, the contribution of P DR * and the solution of the previous equation, once ␬ DR
* ⫽1 is sub-
and ␧ DR
* is not significant for the estimation of the dimensionless stituted, is:
net belt tension on the idle arc 共Eq. 共8兲兲, thus it is possible to
assume: G 2共 ␸ 兲
␬⫽ (16)
G 2 共 ⫺tan ␥ DR* 兲
共 ␬ idle 兲 DR ⬵1 (12)
where G 2 ( ␸ )⫽e H 2 ( ␸ ) and
Solution of Equations „Drive Pulley…
The steel plates are separated on the idle arc, while they are
pressed against each other on the active arc, which extends from
H 2共 ␸ 兲 ⫽ 冉
␮ 2 tan ␤
sin2 ␤ ␮
冑1⫹ ␸ 2 cos2 ␤

冏 冏冊
the shock section to the exit point of the belt. Therefore it is
tan ␤
convenient to integrate the congruency and the first momentum ⫺ln 1⫹ 冑1⫹ ␸ 2 cos2 ␤
equations 共Eqs. 共1-2兲兲, on the active arc, starting from the shock ␮
section.
In order to simplify the integration of equations, it is useful to Consideration of the Solution „Drive Pulley…
change the angular co-ordinate by means of the following trans-
On the drive pulley, the solution of equations is defined for
formation rule ␺ ⫽ ␪ ⫺ ␪ DR
* .
positive values of angular co-ordinate ␺, i.e., on the active arc,
The congruency Eq. 共1兲 gives: while on the idle arc, under the hypothesis of uniform kinematical
* ⫺w ␺
s⫽s DR (13) strain, the net tension of the belt is uniform together with the
* ⫺w ␺ 共Eq.
linear pressure Eq. 共12兲. Now from the relation s⫽s DR
The previous equation together with the kinematical Eq. 共4兲 al- 共13兲兲 it follows that, when w⬎0, the sliding coefficient always
lows us to write the subsequent relation: decreases with ␺, i.e., the sliding coefficient always assumes
negative values on the active arc.
tan ␥ ⫽tan ␥ DR
* ⫺␺ (14) Conversely when w⬍0 the sliding coefficient grows with an-
Moreover in order to integrate the first momentum Eq. 共2兲, an gular co-ordinate ␺, thus it is possible to have zero sliding coef-
ficient on the active arc. This happens for:
additional variable substitution is needed: ␸ ⫽ ␺ ⫺tan ␥DR* .
Observe that cos ␤s is always positive so, by taking into account *
s DR
the geometric Eq. 共5兲, it is possible to write: ␺⫽ ⫽tan ␥ DR
* (17)
w
1 1 Let us observe that Eqs. 共15兲 and 共16兲 are symmetric with respect
cos ␤ s ⫽ ⫽
冑1⫹tan ␤ s 2 冑1⫹tan ␤ cos2 ␥
2
to ␸⫽0 i.e., ␺ ⫽tan ␥DR
* , therefore, when w⬍0, the extension ␣

548 Õ Vol. 124, SEPTEMBER 2002 Transactions of the ASME

 * „w Ì0,
Fig. 7 Drive pulley: dimensionless net tension ␬ versus ␺ for different values of ␥ DR
␮Ä0.1, ␤Ä11°…

of active arc cannot exceed the value 2 tan ␥DR* in order to assure
the dimensionless tension ␬ 2 in the exit point of the belt to be less
than ( ␬ idle ) DR ⬵1.
Figures 7,8 show the dimensionless tension ␬ versus the angu-
lar co-ordinate ␺ for different values of the sliding angle ␥ DR
* and
for the two cases: w⬎0 and w⬍0. During pitch radius increasing
phases the dimensionless tension is monotone: it always decreases
with ␺. Conversely during pitch radius decreasing phases the di-
mensionless tension ␬ decreases first, up to the point ␺ ⫽tan ␥DR * needed to assure a value of ␬ 2 less than ( ␬ idle ) DR ⬵1 共i.e., to
共Eq. 共17兲兲 where it reaches its minimum value, after that it grows
up to the unit value at the point ␺ ⫽2 tan ␥DR* .
If the extension ␣ of the active arc were to exceed the limit
value 2 tan ␥DR
* , the pulley would not be a drive pulley, and the
belt’s dynamical behavior would be that of the driven pulley, as
we will discuss later.
Let suppose the whole arc of contact being ␲, Fig. 9 shows the
values of dimensionless net tension ␬ 2 at the exit point of the belt,
during pitch radius decreasing phases, for different values of the
active arc ␣. The figure shows that the minimum value of ␥ DR * ,
guarantee the pulley being driver兲, grows with the extension of the
active arc ␣.

* „w Ë0,
Fig. 8 Drive pulley: dimensionless net tension ␬ versus ␺ for different values of ␥ DR
␮Ä0.1, ␤Ä11°…

Journal of Mechanical Design SEPTEMBER 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 549

 Fig. 9 Drive pulley: ␬ 2 for different values of the active arc’s extension ␣ „w Ë0, ␮Ä0.1, ␤Ä11°…

Macroscopic Quantities and Dynamical Response Dimensionless clamping force:

„Drive Pulley…
The previous sections discussed the dynamics of the belt by
describing its local behavior, thus the local net tension, the local
pressure and the local sliding velocity are evaluated. But for the
S̃ DR 共 ␪ DR
* , ␥ DR
* 兲⫽ 冕
␪1
␪ DR
*
共 cos ␤ ⫾ ␮ sin ␤ 兲共 p̃ idle 兲 DR d ␪

冕
practical applications, it is more convenient to describe the dy- ␪2
namical response of the system by means of some macroscopic ⫹ 共 cos ␤ ⫹ ␮ sin ␤ s 兲 p̃d ␪ (18)
quantities which are easier to use. For example, when planning the ␪ DR
*
transmission control strategy, it is more useful to know the clamp-
ing force needed to generate a certain value of the transmitting
torque and to assure the correct power transmission than to know the plus sign refers to pitch radius increasing phases, while the
the local tension of the belt. minus sign refers to pitch radius decreasing phases. Moreover ␪ 1
Therefore some dimensionless quantities are conveniently and ␪ 2 are respectively the angular co-ordinates of the entry and
defined. exit point of the belt.

Fig. 10 Drive pulley: traction coefficient ␭ versus force ratio ␰ „␮Ä0.1, ␤Ä11°…

550 Õ Vol. 124, SEPTEMBER 2002 Transactions of the ASME

 Fig. 11 Drive pulley: dimensionless parameter ␦ versus force ratio ␰ „␮Ä0.1, ␤Ä11°…

Dimensionless torque: In order to apply the model to the actual cases it could be more
useful to relate the dimensionless torque and the dimensionless
C̃ DR 共 ␪ DR
* , ␥ DR
* 兲 ⫽ ␬ 1 ⫺ ␬ 2 ⬵1⫺ ␬ 2 (19) clamping force by means of a more significant parameter, which is
Observe that ␬ 1 ⫽( ␬ idle ) DR ⬵1 关12兴 since the net belt tension is the traction coefficient:
constant on the idle arc and, as underlined before, the dimension-
less net tension ( ␬ idle ) DR is almost equal to the unit value. The C DR C̃ DR
previous dimensionless quantities are related to the dimensional ␭ DR 共 ␪ DR
* , ␥ DR
* 兲⫽ ⫽ (22)
ones by means of the following relation: S DR R S̃ DR
Actual clamping force:
* ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2 兲 S̃ DR
S DR ⫽ 共 F DR (20) and to express this quantity as function of the force ratio:

Actual transmitting torque:

␬2
␰ DR 共 ␪ DR
* , ␥ DR
* 兲⫽ ⬵␬2 (23)
* ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2 兲 C̃ DR
C DR ⫽R 共 F DR (21) ␬1

Fig. 12 Drive pulley „no clearance among the segments…: ␭ versus force ratio ␰ „␮Ä0.1, ␤Ä11°…

Journal of Mechanical Design SEPTEMBER 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 551

 Fig. 13 Drive pulley „no clearance among the segments…: ␦ versus force ratio ␰ „␮Ä0.1, ␤Ä11°…
In the same fashion it is useful to introduce the ratio between the
dimensionless clamping force and the sum of the dimensionless
net tension at the exit and the entry point:
S̃ DR 1 1⫺ ␰ DR
␦ DR 共 ␪ DR
* , ␥ DR
* 兲⫽ ⫽ (24)
␬ 1 ⫹ ␬ 2 ␭ DR 1⫹ ␰ DR
By observing that the previous three parameters depend on the
two quantities ␪ DR * and ␥ DR * , it is possible to plot ␭ and ␦ as
function of the force ratio ␰ for different values of ␪ DR * and ␥ DR
* .
Moreover it is possible to demonstrate that for the limiting condi-
* lim⫽ 兵 3⫺␲␲/2/2 and ␪ DRlim
tion ␥ DR * ⫽ ␪ 1 the traction coefficient ␭ DR 共Eq.
共22兲兲 assumes the limiting value:
1 cos ␤
␭ lim⫽ (25)
2 ␮
which is the limit traction capability of the belt and does not
depend on the extension of the actual contact arc. Obviously when
␪ DR
* ⫽ ␪ 2 , ␭ is always zero for any value of the sliding angle ␥ DR
* .
Figures 10,11 represent ␭ and ␦ versus the force ratio ␰ for an
active arc equalling ␲. The figures show the different dynamical
response of the system respectively to a positive variation and to a
negative variation of the pitch radius: for a fixed value of the force
ratio ␰, the traction coefficient ␭ assumes different values for w
⬎0 and w⬍0 and the parameter ␦ is higher during pitch radius
increasing phases than during decreasing ones because the axial
components of the friction forces, acting on the pulley, are oppo-
site to the applied clamping force in the first case, and have the
same direction as of the clamping force in the second case. Fig-
ures 12,13 represent the dynamic response of a pushing V-belt
without clearance among the steel segments 共Carbone et al. 关19兴兲,
the main difference, with respect to Figs. 10,11, is that, for each
parameter, only one curve is enough to describe the response of
the system to a variation of pitch radius. In effect the limiting
traction capability of the two typologies of belt, defined by the
traction coefficient ␭ lim , is the same 共Figs. 10–12兲 but the clear-
ance among the steel plates enlarges the domain of the possible
pairs of values 共␭, ␰兲 as Fig. 10 shows. This also happens for the
parameter ␦ but this time the limit values of ␦ are not the same
for the two typologies of belt: Figures 11–13 show that the maxi-
mum value of the parameter ␦ 共about 9.5兲 is less for the belt with
clearance among the segments than for the belt without clearance
552 Õ Vol. 124, SEPTEMBER 2002
共␦⬵11.5兲. Thus for a fixed value of the force ratio ␰ and of the
sum of belt tensions ␬ 1 ⫹ ␬ 2 , increasing the pitch radius is easier
共i.e., requires less clamping force兲 for the belt with clearance
among the metal plates than for the belt without clearance.
Driven Pulley
Two different dynamical behaviors of the belt have to be inves-
tigated: the first one is for pitch radius decreasing phases and the
second one is for pitch radius increasing phases. As we will dis-
cuss in the next section, an idle arc with clearance among the steel
segments, exists when w⬎0. Conversely, during pitch radius de-
creasing phases the steel segments are always pressed against
each other along the whole arc of contact.
Pitch Radius Decreasing Phases „Driven Pulley…: wË0.
The steel segments are pressed against each other on the driven
pulley where no clearance exists among them. Let us introduce
the following two quantities: ␪ ⫽ ␪ DN* (t) and F⫽F DN * (t), where
␪ ⫽ ␪ DN
* is the angular co-ordinate of the actual or fictitious
point 共depending on the amount of the transmitted torque兲
where the sliding tangential velocity vanishes and F⫽F DN * is the
net belt tension at this point: the belt behaves as a belt without
clearance 关19兴.
Without making the same reasoning made for the drive pulley,
it is easy to demonstrate that also in this case the relations 1-5
hold. This time the definitions of the dimensionless linear pressure
and the dimensionless net belt tension are slightly different: p̃
* ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2 ) and ␬ ⫽(F⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2 )/(F DN
* ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2 ).
⫽ Rp/(F DN
The integration of the equations will start from the point ␪
⫽ ␪ DN
* where the sliding coefficient s⫽ ␻ / ␻ s assumes the zero
value. Moreover, owing to the absence of the shock section, all the
quantities are continuous along the contact arc. Substituting ␺
⫽ ␪ ⫺ ␪ DN
* and ␬ DN
* ⫽1, the following relations hold:
s⫽⫺w ␺ (26)
G 2共 ␺ 兲
␬⫽ (27)
G 2共 0 兲
where G 2 ( ␺ )⫽e H 2 ( ␺ ) and
Transactions of the ASME
 Fig. 14 Driven pulley: belt motion and net tension diagram, pitch radius decreasing
phases „ w Ë0…

H 2共 ␺ 兲 ⫽
sin2 ␤ ␮冉
␮ 2 tan ␤
冑1⫹ ␺ 2 cos2 ␤ H 1 共 ␺ 兲 ⫽⫺ 冉
␮ 2 tan ␤
sin2 ␤ ␮
冑1⫹ ␺ 2 cos2 ␤

冏
⫺ln 1⫹
tan ␤
␮
冑1⫹ ␺ 2 cos2 ␤ 冏冊
Figure 14 represents the relative motion of the belt with respect to
pulley during pitch radius decreasing phases. There are two belt
positions, the first one at time t and the second one at t⫹dt;
moreover the relative displacements and the sliding speed of each
element of the belt with its radial and tangential components,
respectively Ṙ and ␻ s R are depicted too. The radial component of
the sliding velocity does not depend on the angular co-ordinate
because it depends only on time t, while the sliding angular ve-
locity varies linearly with the ␺ angle as it is dictated by Eq. 共26兲.
Moreover the picture shows the polar diagram of the dimension-
less net tension ␬, which is depicted also in Fig. 14 for w⬍0.
The pictures show that ␬ is symmetric with respect to the
point ␺ ⫽0 i.e., ␪ ⫽ ␪ DN * , where it reaches its minimum
value. Thus, owing to the higher length of arc HF with respect
to arc HM and to the symmetry of ␬, the following inequality
yields: ␬ (F)⬎ ␬ (M), namely F 2 ⬎F 1 , so that the power transmis-
sion is assured.
Pitch Radius Increasing Phases „Driven Pulley…: wÌ0. Let
us introduce, as we did in the previous section, the two quantities:
␪ ⫽ ␪ DN
* (t) and F⫽F DN* (t), which maintain the same meaning as
has been explained before.
On the active arc Eqs. 共1–5兲 hold with p̃⫽ Rp/(F DN * following relation 共Eq. 共30兲兲, which describes the evolution of the
⫺ ␴␻ R ) and ␬ ⫽(F⫺ ␴␻ R )/(F DN ⫺ ␴␻ R ). By introducing
2 2 2 2 * 2 2
⫹ln 1⫺ 冏 tan ␤
␮
冑1⫹ ␺ 2 cos2 ␤ 冏冊
Now the question is if the active arc extends from the entry point
to the exit point of the belt or if there exists an idle arc with
clearance among the steel segments.
If no idle arc were to exist on the driven pulley, during pitch
radius increasing phases, Eq. 共28兲 should hold on the entire arc of
contact, the sliding coefficient s should assume negative values
for ␺ ⬎0, namely for ␪ ⬎ ␪ DN * , and the resulting friction forces,
would push the steel segments to separate. Hence, surely, an idle
arc exists on the driven pulley, during pitch radius increasing
phases, and it extends from the section ␪ ⫽ ␪ DN * to the exit point.
Let us observe that also in this case all the quantities are continu-
ous along the whole contact arc, namely no shock section exists:
the kinematical behavior of the belt, once past the point ␪
⫽ ␪ DN
* , is similar to an expansion wave, hence we could call the
section ␪ ⫽ ␪ DN
* as the ‘‘expansion start section.’’
A different set of equations has to be written in order to de-
scribe the belt dynamics on the idle arc.
Using a reasoning similar to what was done on the drive pulley,
it is possible to assert that on the idle arc 共driven pulley兲 Eqs. 共6兲
and 共7兲 hold again. This time, by remembering that no disconti-
nuities exist along the contact arc and that the kinematical strain is
zero at the expansion start section, it is possible to obtain the
kinematical strain on the idle arc:

再
the new angular co-ordinate ␺ ⫽ ␪ ⫺ ␪ DN
* , the integration of these
R共 t 兲
再
equations yields: ␧ idle 共 ␪ ,t 兲 ⫽ ⫺1 ␪ ⭓ ␪ DN
* 共t兲
R共 t0兲 with (30)
s⫽⫺w ␺ (28) t⭓t 0
␪ ⫺ ␪ DN
* 共 t 0 兲 ⫺ ␻ 共 t⫺t 0 兲 ⫽0
G 1共 ␺ 兲 Equations 共30兲 shows that, owing to the positive value of w, the
␬⫽ (29) kinematical strain ␧ idle is always positive on the idle arc.
G 1共 0 兲
Also this time it is possible to assert that the maximum value of
where G 1 ( ␺ )⫽e H 1 ( ␺ ) and the term d ␪ DN
* /dt can equate the pulley angular velocity ␻ only

Journal of Mechanical Design SEPTEMBER 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 553

 Fig. 15 Driven pulley: belt motion and its sliding velocity, pitch radius increas-
ing phases „ w Ì0…

by reducing quickly to zero the transmitting torque. Let us focus depicted in the picture: along the idle arc no tangential sliding
our attention only on slow variation of the transmitting torque, velocity exists (s idle ⫽0) and the angular velocity of each steel
after some simplifications and by neglecting the terms plate equates to the rotating velocity ␻ of the pulley.
兩 (1/␻ )d ␪ DN
* /dt 兩 Ⰶ1, 兩 R̈/ ␻ 2 R 兩 Ⰶ1 and 兩 Ṙ 2 / ␻ 2 R 2 兩 Ⰶ1 the previous Along the idle arc, the steel segments are separated and this
equations shows that ␧ idle varies almost linearly with the angular requires no compressive forces acting on them, hence the net belt
coordinate ␺ ⫽ ␪ ⫺ ␪ DN* : tension equates to the band tension T which, under the hypotheses
placed, is uniform along the contact arc. Since all the quantities
␧ idle 共 ␺ ,t 兲 ⬵ ␺ w 共 t 兲 (31) are continuous along the contact arc, this time F DN * ⫽T and the
Figure 15 clarifies the kinematical behavior of the belt: the clear- dimensionless tension ( ␬ idle ) DN on the idle arc is:
ance between two adjacent steel segments grows, almost linearly,
with the angular co-ordinate, starting from a null value at the T⫺ ␴ idle ␻ 2 R 2 ␧ idle ␴␻ 2 R 2
expansion start section and reaching its maximum value at the exit ␬ idle ⫽ ⫽1⫹ ⬎1 (32)
point. The tangential sliding velocity of each element of the belt is * ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2
F DN * ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2
1⫹␧ idle F DN

Fig. 16 Driven pulley: dimensionless net tension ␬ versus ␺ „␮Ä0.1, ␤Ä11°…

554 Õ Vol. 124, SEPTEMBER 2002 Transactions of the ASME

where ␴ idle ⫽ ␴ /(1⫹␧ idle ) is the linear belt mass on the idle arc. Also this time the limit value of the traction coefficient is ␭ lim
By observing that ␧ idle is small the previous equation yields: ⫽ 2 cos ␤/␮ obtained when the sliding angle ␥ equates ␲ /2 on the
1

␬ idle ⬵1 (33)
The dimensionless linear pressure assumes the same expression
共9兲 and the sliding angle ␥ idle is always zero on the idle arc.
Figure 16 shows the graph of dimensionless tension versus an-
gular co-ordinate ␺ for the pitch radius increasing and decreasing
phases: w⬎0 and w⬍0. The trend of dimensionless tension ␬
greatly differs for the two cases. In effect, during pitch radius
increasing phases the dimensionless tension grows with the angu-
lar co-ordinate ␺ and reaches its maximum value at ␺⫽0. After
that, ␺⬎0, it is almost constant 共Eq. 共33兲兲. Conversely when w
⬍0 no maximum exists and the dimensionless tension ␬ assumes
the minimum value at the point ␺⫽0 namely ␪ ⫽ ␪ DN * .
Macroscopic Quantities and Dynamical Response „Driven
Pulley…. Also this time it is possible to introduce the dimension-
less clamping force S̃ DN , the dimensionless torque C̃ DN , the trac-
tion coefficient ␭ DN and the other two dimensionless parameters
␰ DN and ␦ DN as we did for the drive pulley. But this time,
since all quantities are continuous along the contact arc,
these dimensionless quantities will depend only on the angular
coordinate of the expansion start section ␪ DN * . The following
relations hold:
whole arc of contact. Therefore the limiting traction performance
of the belt is the same not depending on what pulley we are
considering: the drive or driven one. This time, by eliminating the
parameter ␪ DN* it is possible to represent the traction coefficient
␭ DN and the parameter ␦ DN as function of ␰ DN . Figures 17 and 18
show the graphical result of this operation: one curve is obtained
for each case. The two lines represent the dynamic response of the
belt to a positive or negative variation of the pitch radius R.
Moreover, by comparing the pictures 10, 17, 11, and 18, we de-
duce that the presence of the clearance among the steel segments
highly affects the belt dynamical response on the drive pulley
owing to the existence of the shock section, while this influence is
less significant on the driven pulley. The only remarkable differ-
ence is that also in this case the maximum value of the parameter
␦ is less than ␦ of the belt without clearance among the steel
segments 关19兴.
The diagrams reported in Figs. 10,11 and 17,18 can be used to
find the ratio between the clamping forces acting on the two pul-
leys: observe that ␭ DR /␭ DN ⫽ S DN /S DR and ␰ DN ⬵ 1/␰ DR . But
this is not an easy task owing to the iterative procedure to follow
in order to determine the correct value of ␧ DR* ␪ DR
* and ␥ DR
* , and
it will be the task of future works. Just for example, knowing the
geometry of the transmission, the overall clearance between the
steel plates, the clamping force and the torque acting on the

S̃ DN 共 ␪ DN
* 兲⫽ 冕
␪1
␪2
共 cos ␤ ⫹ ␮ sin ␤ s 兲 p̃d ␪ (34)
drive pulley, it is possible to evaluate the traction coefficient
␭ DR . Now, starting with a trial value of ␥ DR * and using the
diagram of Fig. 10 it is possible to determine a first value of ␪ DR
*
C̃ DN 共 ␪ DN
* 兲⫽ ␬ 2⫺ ␬ 1 (35) and, by means of geometric considerations on the total gap be-
tween the steel segments and on the length of the bands, the value
C DN C̃ DN of ␧ DR * 共Eq. 共10兲兲 and
* . At this time it is possible to evaluate s DR
␭ DN 共 ␪ DN
* 兲⫽ ⫽ (36) again ␥ DR
* by means of the equation s DR * ⫽w tan ␥DR * in order to
S DN R S̃ DN re-start the cycle. Following this iterative procedure it is possible
* ␪ DR
to determine the correct value of ␧ DR * and ␥ DR* and therefore
␬2
␰ DN 共 ␪ DN
* 兲⫽ (37) of ␰ DR . Now it is possible to evaluate ␰ DN ⬵ 1/␰ DR and, by means
␬1 of Fig. 17 the traction coefficient ␭ DN and therefore the ratio
S DN /S DR ⫽ ␭ DR /␭ DN .
1 1⫺ ␰ DN
␦ DN 共 ␪ DN
* 兲⫽ (38) The proposed model investigates the shifting dynamics of the
␭ DN 1⫹ ␰ DN CVT transmission separately on the driven pulley and the drive

Fig. 17 Driven pulley: traction coefficient ␭ versus force ratio ␰ „␮Ä0.1, ␤Ä11°…

Journal of Mechanical Design SEPTEMBER 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 555

 Fig. 18 Driven pulley: dimensionless parameter ␦ versus force ratio ␰ „␮Ä0.1, ␤Ä11°…
one. Obviously some quantities, as for example the kinematical
strain ␧ DR
* , the net belt tensions F DR
* and F DN* , the angular ve-
locities of the drive and driven pulley, the angular coordinates ␪ DR
* the belt shifting behavior is the same as a belt without clearance.
and ␪ DN
* , will be evaluated only by coupling the two pulley
dynamic equations into one closed system of equations, which
depends on what particular system is the object of study. Coup-
ling the two pulleys will be the task of future works and it will
be essential in order to verify, improve, and validate the theoreti-
cal model proposed by means of a comparison with experimental
results.
Conclusions
This paper proposes a simplified theoretical approach to the
shifting dynamics of the metal pushing V-belt transmission. It
takes into account the influence of the clearance among the steel
segments on the dynamic behavior of the belt. On the drive pulley,
the belt dynamics are highly conditioned by the clearance among
the segments: a shock section exists, where two adjacent segments
collide, which subdivide the contact arc into two parts: an idle arc
共from entry point to shock section兲 and an active arc 共from the
shock section to the exit point of the pulley兲. On the idle arc no
tangential slip exists between the pulley and the belt and the steel
segments are separated: due to absence of tangential slip no torque
is transmitted on this arc. On the active arc the clearance is zero,
longitudinal compressive forces and tangential slip arise in order
to assure the power transmission.
Different mechanical behavior of the belt arises respectively
during pitch radius increasing and decreasing phases. In the first
case, on the active arc, the dimensionless sliding coefficient, i.e.,
the tangential slip, is always negative and it decreases with the
dimensionless tension as the angular co-ordinate grows: no prob-
lem arises. In the second case, during pitch radius decreasing
phases, a point with null sliding coefficient could exist, on the
active arc, at which the dimensionless tension reaches its mini-
mum value. After this point, the dimensionless tension increases
as the angular co-ordinate grows. Since the pulley is a drive pul-
ley, the dimensionless tension at the exit point has to be less than
that at the shock section, therefore the active arc extension is
bounded to not exceed a certain limit value.
The belt shifting dynamics on the driven pulley are highly dif-
ferent from the drive pulley. First of all, no shock section exists
and all the dynamic quantities have no discontinuities on the con-
556 Õ Vol. 124, SEPTEMBER 2002
tact arc. During the pitch radius decreasing phases, no clearance
exists among the steel segments on the whole arc of contact and
Conversely, during pitch radius increasing phases, an idle arc,
where the segments are separated, and an active arc exist. On the
idle arc the distance between two adjacent steel plates grows with
the angular co-ordinate, starting from the null value at the expan-
sion start section. We can say that there is an ‘‘expansion wave’’
which starts from the end of the active arc and propagates up to
the exit point of the belt.
This model allows us to analyze the shifting mechanics of the
CVT and to relate the response of each pulley during its shifting
phases with some macroscopic dimensionless parameters, repre-
senting the clamping force acting on the pulley and the transmit-
ting torque, as function of the force ratio at the entry and exit
point of the belt. The relations obtained will be used to evaluate
the ratio between the clamping force acting on the two pulleys, to
simulate the shifting dynamics of the whole CVT transmission, to
calculate the power dissipation in several operative conditions.
Moreover we will investigate the influence of the strain motion of
the belt that, during slow speed ratio shifting maneuvers, could
have significant effects on the belt mechanical behavior. After that
a comparison with experimental results will be carried out in order
to improve and verify the model.
Nomenclature
Subscript ‘‘DR’’ ⫽ drive pulley
Subscript ‘‘DN’’ ⫽ driven pulley
Superscript ‘‘*’’ ⫽ the shock section
Subscripts ‘‘1’’ and ‘‘2’’ ⫽ the entry and exit point of the belt,
respectively
Kinematic Quantities
␣ ⫽ active arc 共drive pulley兲
␤ ⫽ pulley’s half-opening angle
␤ s ⫽ pulley’s half-opening angle in the
sliding plane
␥ ⫽ sliding angle
␧ ⫽ kinematical strain of the belt
␪ ⫽ angular co-ordinate
␪˙ ⫽ local angular velocity of the belt
R ⫽ pitch radius
Transactions of the ASME
 wheel Assisted Driveline with CVT,’’ Int. Congress on Continuously Variable
␸ ⫽ ␺ ⫺tan ␥DR* ⫽ variable transformation used to inte-
Power Transmission CVT ’99, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, September 16 –
grate the equations 17, pp. 225–230.
␺⫽␪⫺␪* ⫽ angular co-ordinate referred to ␪* 关5兴 Kelley, W. R., 1999, ‘‘A CVT for V8 Engine Applications in Passengers Cars
angle and Light Trucks,’’ Int. Congress on Continuously Variable Power Transmis-
␻ ⫽ angular velocity of the pulley sion CVT ’99, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, September 16 –17, pp. 117–124.
关6兴 Paul, M., 1999, ‘‘CVT’s Driving the Future of Transmission Technology,’’ Int.
␻ s ⫽ ␪˙ ⫺ ␻ ⫽ sliding angular velocity of the belt Congress on Continuously Variable Power Transmission CVT ’99, Eindhoven,
The Netherlands, September 16 –17, pp. 1– 8.
Dynamical Quantities 关7兴 Mangialardi, L., and Mantriota, G., 1992, ‘‘The Advantages of Using Continu-
C ⫽ transmitting torque ously Variable Transmission in Wind Power Systems,’’ Renewable Energy,
F⫽T⫺ P ⫽ net belt tension 2共3兲, pp. 201–209.
关8兴 Mangialardi, L., and Mantriota, G., 1992, ‘‘Continuously Variable Transmis-
␮ ⫽ friction coefficient between metal sion with Torque-Sensing Regulators in Waterpumping Windmills,’’ Renew-
blocks and pulley able Energy, 7共2兲, pp. 807– 823.
␮ b ⫽ friction coefficient between band 关9兴 Mangialardi, L., and Mantriota, G., 1994, ‘‘Automatically regulated C.V.T. in
and metal plates Wind Power Systems,’’ Renewable Energy, 4共3兲, pp. 299–310.
关10兴 Mangialardi, L., and Mantriota, G., 1999, ‘‘Power Flows and Efficiency in
p ⫽ linear pressure of the belt Infinitely Variable Transmissions,’’ Mech. Mach. Theory, 34, pp. 973–994.
P ⫽ compressive force between metal 关11兴 Mangialardi, L., and Mantriota, G., 1996, ‘‘Dynamic Behavior of Wind Power
blocks Systems equipped with Automatically Regulated Continuously Variable Trans-
␴ ⫽ linear belt’s mass mission,’’ Renewable Energy, 7共2兲, pp. 185–203.
S ⫽ axial thrust 关12兴 Arnijima, S., Fujii, T., Matsuoka, H., and Ikeda, E., 1992, ‘‘Study on Axial
Force and its Distribution of a New CVT Belt for Car,’’ Int. J. Veh. Des., 13共2兲,
T ⫽ tension of band pp. 168 –181.
Dimensionless Quantities 关13兴 Gerbert, B. G., 1984, ‘‘Metal V-Belt Mechanics,’’ ASME Paper 84-DET-227
PTG Conference, Boston.
C̃ ⫽ dimensionless torque 关14兴 Kim, H., and Lee, J., 1994, ‘‘Analysis of Belt Behavior and Slip Characteris-
␦ ⫽ S̃/( ␬ 1 ⫹ ␬ 2 ) ⫽ ratio between dimensionless 关15兴
tics for Metal V-Belt CVT,’’ Mech. Mach. Theory, 29共6兲, pp. 865– 874.
Sun, D. C., 1988, ‘‘Performance Analysis of Variable Speed-Ratio Metal
axial thrust and sum of di- V-Belt Drive,’’ ASME J. Mech., Transm., Autom. Des., 110, pp. 472– 481.
mensionless tensions in 关16兴 Ide, T., Udagawa, A., and Kataoka, R., 1995, ‘‘Simulation Approach to the
entry and exit point of the Effect of the Ratio Changing Speed of a Metal V-Belt CVT on the Vehicle
belt Response,’’ Veh. Syst. Dyn., 24, pp. 377–388.
关17兴 Kanehara, S., Fujii, T., and Oono, S., 1996, ‘‘A Study on a Metal Pushing
␬ ⫽(F⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2 )/(F * ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2 ) ⫽ dimensionless tension V-Belt Type CVT 共Macroscopic Consideration for Coefficient of Friction be-
␭⫽ C/(SR) ⫽ traction coefficient tween Belt and Pulley兲,’’ JSAE CVT ’96 Yokohama Proceedings, pp. 15–22.
␭ lim ⫽ limiting traction coefficient 关18兴 Kanehara, S., Fujii T., and Fujiimura, O., 1999, ‘‘Characterization of CVT
␰⫽ ␬2 /␬1 ⫽ dimensionless force ratio Using a Metal V-Belt at Transitional States,’’ Int. Congress on Continuously
Variable Power Transmission CVT ’99, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, Septem-
p̃⫽ Rp/(F * ⫺ ␴␻ 2 R 2 ) ⫽ dimensionless pressure ber 16 –17, pp. 58 – 64.
s⫽ ␻ s / ␻ ⫽ local sliding coefficient 关19兴 Carbone, G., Mangialardi, L., and Mantriota, G., 2001, ‘‘Theoretical Model of
S̃ ⫽ dimensionless axial thrust Metal V-Belt Drives During Rapid Ratio Changing,’’ ASME J. Mech. Des.,
123, pp. 111–117, March.
w⫽ Ṙ/( ␻ R) ⫽ dimensionless radial veloc- 关20兴 Ward, W. C., Jr., Copes, R. G., Sumiejski, J. L., and Fewkes, R., 1996, ‘‘Per-
ity formance Features of Fluids for CVT Applications,’’ JSAE Paper 9636457.
关21兴 Nakazawa, K., Mitsui, H., and Kakegawa, K., 1998, ‘‘Performance of a CVT
Fluid for High Torque Transmitting Belt-CVTs,’’ SAE paper 982675.
References 关22兴 Peiffer, R., and Kraneburg, P., 1999, ‘‘Functionality of New CVTs-the Fluid
关1兴 Van Der Laan, M., and Luh, J., 1999, ‘‘Model-Based Variator Control Applied Question,’’ Proceedings of the Int. Congress on Continuously Variable Power
to a Belt Type CVT,’’ Int. Congress on Continuously Variable Power Trans- Transmission CVT’99, pp. 172–177, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, SEPT. 16 –
mission CVT ’99, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, September 16 –17, pp. 105– 17.
110. 关23兴 Ichihashi, T., Deshimaru, J., and Yamaguchi, Y., 1999, ‘‘Performance of Lu-
关2兴 Takiyama, T., 1999, ‘‘Engine-CVT Consolidated Control for Variable A/F,’’ bricants for New Generation V-Belt CVT,’’ Proceedings of the Int. Congress
Int. Congress on Continuously Variable Power Transmission CVT ’99, Eind- on Continuously Variable Power Transmission CVT’99, pp. 178 –183, Eind-
hoven, The Netherlands, September 16 –17, pp. 36 – 41. hoven, The Netherlands, SEPT. 16 –17.
关3兴 Vroemen, B. G., and Veldpaus, F. E., 1999, ‘‘Hydraulic Circuit Design for 关24兴 Watts, R. F., and Richard, K. M., 1999, ‘‘Development of High Performance
CVT Control,’’ Int. Congress on Continuously Variable Power Transmission Lubricants for Nontraction CVT’s,’’ Proceedings of the Int. Congress on Con-
CVT ’99, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, September 16 –17, pp. 111–116. tinuously Variable Power Transmission CVT’99, pp. 184 –189, Eindhoven,
关4兴 Serrarens, A. F. A., and Veldpaus, F. E., 1999, ‘‘Powertrain Control of a Fly- The Netherlands, SEPT. 16 –17.

Journal of Mechanical Design SEPTEMBER 2002, Vol. 124 Õ 557

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