FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology

Subject Name ENGINEERING LABORATORY IV

Title of Experiment BELT FRICTION

Course Code BNJ 37301 Section : 2

Semester and session Semester 2 (Session 22/23)

Lecturer/Instructor Name Ir. Ts. Shaiful Fadzil Bin Zainal Abidin

Group Members Matric No.

1 MOHAMMAD AIZAL ALMAZAN BIN JAMIL AN200079

2 AHMAD IRFAN FAKHRULLAH BIN NAZERI AN200047

3 MUHAMMAD ZARIFF BIN MOHD ZAKI AN200123

To be filled in by lecturer

No. Item Mark Weightage Score

1 Theory (C2) /5 2
2 Methodology (P2) /5 1

3 Observation (P3) /5 3

4 Results (P2) /5 2

5 Calculation (P4) /5 3
Assessment of
7 Discussion (C3) /5 5
Laboratory Report
8 Conclusion (C3) /5 3
(Group Report)
9 References (C1) /5 1

Total cognitive (55%)

Total physhomotor (45%)

1.0 THEORY

1.1 INFLUENCE OF ARC OF CONTACT

The friction created when a rope or belt passes over a pulley results in
different rope forces at the two ends. According to Figure 8.13, the friction force at
the pulley is equal to the difference between the rope forces.

Figure 1.1.1 : Schematic diagram of tension the belt [1]

The friction between a belt or rope depends on the coefficient of friction and the arc
of contact. Eytelwein's rope friction equation is used to calculate the ratio of the two
rope forces:

where F1 is the greater force on the tension side and F2 the smaller force on the
pulled side. For a specific material combination, the coefficient of friction (μ) is a
fixed variable. The angle (α) is to be expressed as circular measure. The ratio
increases disproportionately with increasing angle (α). Doubling the number of rope
turns from 1 round (α = 2π) to 2 rounds (α = 4π) with a coefficient of friction of μ =
0.3 increases the forces, for example, by a factor of
 Belts are flexible bands used for power transmission, and they can transfer
power with minimal loss and noise without requiring lubrication. The earliest type of
belt used was the flat belt, but it had the disadvantage of requiring careful alignment
with the pulley surface to prevent slipping. To address this issue, the V-belt was
introduced, which can minimize slipping by having both sides of the belt in contact
with the pulley groove.
Flat belts require higher pre-tensioning to transmit torque without slipping,
especially for large transmission ratios and low angles of contact. To reduce
transverse force, tension pulleys with defined contact pressure are recommended for
these cases. V-belts have a trapezoidal cross-section and consist of multiple layers of
polyester fiber cord threads, a high-quality rubber mixture core, and a rubberized
cotton or synthetic fabric enclosure. Different designs are used depending on the
intended use.
This experiment aimed to determine the coefficient of friction between a belt
and pulley, focusing on the type of belt used and the angle of contact between them.
Two types of belts were used: flat belts and V-shaped belts. The experiment involved
placing a fixed weight at one end of a flat belt and suspending a nylon rope with a
weight on the other end of the pulley at various angles. The tension was measured and
recorded, and the ratio of tensions was calculated to find the coefficient of sliding
friction between the belt and pulley. A graph of the natural logarithm of the ratio of
tensions against the contact angle was plotted to obtain the coefficient.
3.0 OBSERVATIONS

The F1/F2 values, both recorded and estimated, increase linearly up to the
degree of arc of contact. Despite the difference between the measured and calculated
values, it was expected that the belt tension ratio would increase as the angle of
contact increased. This is because a larger arc of contact increases the contact between
the belt's surface and the pulley's groove, leading to more friction and a higher force
ratio. The discrepancies between the two sets of data could be due to intentional errors
during the measurement process.

In this experiment, a flat-belt groove with an arc of contact of 180° was

utilized, and materials such as hemp, leather, and nylon were tested. The friction force
was found to be high when the leather's firm surface came in contact with the groove's
surface. Furthermore, the leather's width fits snugly into the groove's opening,
minimizing sliding when turned and reducing potential inaccuracies in the measured
and published data.

However, a significant difference was observed between the measured and

published values for nylon, which is due to its smooth surface. Since there is no
friction between the nylon belt and the pulley's surface when the belt is wound, this
error could be anticipated.