Section VIII

Belt Drives

1
 Talking Points
 Belts? & Types of Belts
 Belt Design
 V-Belt
 Angle of Wrap

2
 Belts? & Types of Belts
 Belts are used to transmit power
from one shaft to another where
it is not necessary to maintain an
exact speed ratio between the
two shafts.
 Two famous types of belts are:
 Flat Belts.

 V-Belts.

 Power losses due to slip and

creep amount to from 3.0 to 5.0
percent for most belt drives.
 In this course, it will be assumed
that the shafts are parallel. 3
 Belt Design
 It involves either the proper belt selection to  The power transmitted by a belt drive is a
transmit a required power or the function of the belt tension and belt
determination of the power that may be speed.
transmitted by a given flat belt or by one V- Power   T1  T2   V, W or Power 
 T1  T2   V , hp
belt. In the first case, the width of the 550
Where:
belt is unknown, while in the second T1  belt tension in tight side, N
case, the width is known. The belt T2  belt tension in loose side, N
thickness is assumed for both cases.
V  belt speed, m/s
 The following formula is for determining the stress, 2, for the flat belts applies when the
thickness of the belt is given but the width is unknown.
 1  m  V 2
 e f
 2  m  V 2

Where:
 1  maximum allowable stress, Pa;  2  stress in the slack side of the belt, Pa
m  mass of 1.0 m of belt 1.0 m 2 in cross - section, kg/m 3
f  coefficient of friction between belt & pulley
  angle of wrap of belt on pulley, rad. 4
 .Belt Design – Con
 The required cross-sectional area of the flat belt for the T1  T2
case of the width unknown may be determined by: Required Area 
σ1  σ 2
Area
 The required flat belt width b is therefore: b 
Thickness
 The value of  T1  T2  may be determined from the power requirement, Power   T1  T2   V, W
 The maximum tension in the tight side of the belt depends on the allowable stress of the belt
material. The allowable tensile stress for leather belting is usually 2.0 to 3.45 MPa, and the
allowable stress for rubber belting will run from 1.0 to 1.7 MPa, depending on the quality
of the material. Leather belting can be obtained in various single ply thicknesses. Double and
triple ply belts are also available.
 The following formula is for determining the value of 2, for both flat & V-belts applies when
the width & thickness of the belt are known.
f
T1  m  V 2 sin 2
 The quantity mV2 is due to
e centrifugal force, which
T2  m  V 2 tends to cause the belt to
Where:
m  b  t  p  mass of 1.0 m of belt, kg/m leave the pulley and reduce
b  belt width, m; t  belt thickness, m; p  belt density, kg/m3 the power that may be
transmitted.
  groove angle for the V - Belt   180 for a flat belt  5
V-Belt

Multiple V-Belts

V-Belt Configurations 6
 Angle of Wrap
 The angles of wrap for an open belt may be
determined by:
Rr
sin  
c
 Rr 
1  180  2  180  2 sin 1  
 c 
 Rr 
 2  180  2  180  2 sin 1  
 c 
 The angles of wrap for a crossed belt drive
may be determined by:
Rr
sin  
c
Rr
1   2  180  2  180  2 sin 1  
 c 