University of Zakho Mechanical Department

College of Engineering Fourth Stage

2021-2022

Machine Design
Prepared by : Mr. Majeed Ali
[email protected]
Lectures 12, &13
Belt Drives
 Belt Drives
Belts and chains represent the major types of flexible power transmission
elements. The below Figure shows a typical industrial application of these
elements combined with a gear type speed reducer .

Low
speed
Reduction

Low
speed
Reduction
 In general, belt drives are applied where the rotational speeds are
relatively high, as on the first stage of speed reduction from an electric motor
or engine. The linear speed of a belt is usually 2500 to 6500 ft/min, which
results in relatively low tensile forces in the belt. At lower speeds, the tension
in the belt becomes too large for typical belt cross sections, and slipping may
occur between the sides of the belt and the sheave or pulley that carries it. At
higher speeds, dynamic effects such as centrifugal forces, and vibration reduce
the effectiveness of the drive and its life. A speed of 4000 ft/min is generally
ideal.
𝑫𝟏 𝑫𝟐
𝑽𝒃 = 𝑽𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 = 𝝎𝟏 = 𝝎𝟐 𝝎𝟏 > 𝝎𝟐
𝟐 𝟐

Figure 7-2 Basic belt

drive geometry
 Crossed

Open

Serpentine

Turned

Flat belt

Belt Configurations
Types of belt drives
A belt is a flexible power transmission element that seats tightly on a set of
pulleys or sheaves . Many types of belts are available: flat belts, grooved or
cogged belts, standard V-belts, double-angle V-belts. and others. See below
Figure for examples :

Example of belt construction

The flat belts is the simplest type, often made from leather or rubber-coated
fabric. The sheave surface is also flat and smooth, and the driving force is
therefore limited by the pure friction between the belt and the sheave. Some
designers prefer flat belts for delicate machinery because the belt will slip if
the torque tends to rise to a level high enough to damage the machine.
Synchronous belts, sometimes called timing belts ride on sprockets having
mating grooves into which the teeth on the belt seat.
Some cog belts, are applied to standard V-grooved sheaves. The cogs give the
belt greater flexibility and higher efficiency compared with standard V belts.
They can operate on smaller sheave diameters.
A widely used type of belt, particularly in industrial drives and vehicular
applications, is the V-belt drive . The V-shape causes the belt to wedge tightly
into the groove, increasing friction and allowing high torques to be transmitted
before slipping occurs. Most belts have high-strength cords positioned at the
pitch diameter of the belt cross section to increase the tensile strength of the
belt .The cords, made from natural fibers, synthetic strands, or steel, are
embedded in a firm rubber compound to provide the flexibility needed to
allow the belt to pass around the sheave. Often an outer fabric cover is added
to give the belt good durability.
Figure 7-4 Cross- section
of V belt and sheave
groove

V- belt Drives

But R1=D1/2 and R2=D2/2 ,

then:

The angular velocity ratio is:

The relationships between pitch length, L. center distance, C, and the
sheave diameters are :

The angle of contact of the belt on

each sheave is:

The length of the span between the two sheaves, over which the belt is
unsupported, is

The design value of the ratio of the tight side tension to the slack side tension
is 5 for V-belt drives. The actual value may range as high as 10 .
The contributors to the stress in the belt are as follows:
1- The tensile force in the belt, maximum on the tight side of the belt .
2- The bending of the belt around the sheaves, maximum as the tight side of
the belt bends around the smaller sheave.
3- Centrifugal forces created as the belt moves around the sheaves .
The maximum total stress occurs where the belt enters the smaller sheave,
and the bending stress is a major part. Thus, there are recommended minimum
sheave diameters for standard belts, Using smaller sheaves drastically reduces
belt life.
Standard V Belt Cross Sections
Commercially available V belts are made to one of the standards shown in
Figures 7-5 through 7-8. The alignment between the inch sizes and the metric
sizes indicates that the paired sizes are actually the same cross section. A "soft
conversion" was used to rename the familiar inch sizes with the number for
the metric sizes giving the nominal top width in millimeters.
The nominal value of the included angle between the sides of the V-groove
ranges from 30° to 42°. The angle on the belt may be slightly different to
achieve a tight fit in the groove. Some belts are designed to "ride out" of the
groove somewhat .
FIGURE 7-5 Heavy-duty industrial V-belts
FIGURE 7-6
Industrial narrow
section V-belts

FIGURE 7-7
Light-duty, fractional
horsepower (FHP)
V-belts
FIGURE 7-8 Automotive V-belts
V-belt Drive Design:
The factors involved in selection of a V-belt and the driving and driven sheaves
and proper installation of the drive are summarized in this section. Catalogs
contain extensive data, and step-by-step instructions are given for their use,
The basic data required for drive selection are following:
 Note: Avoid elevated temperatures around belts. Belts must be installed with
the initial tension recommended by the manufacturer. Tension should be
checked after the first few hours of operation because seating and initial stretch
occur. Ensure that the shafts carrying mating sheaves are parallel .

Design Data:
Catalogs typically give several dozen pages of design data for the various
sizes of belts and sheave combinations to ease the job of drive design. The
data typically are given in tabular or Graphical form. The data given here are
for the narrow-section belts: 3V, 5V, and 8V. These three sizes cover a wide
range of power transmission capacities. Figure 7-9 can be used to choose the
basic size for the belt cross section .
Figure 7-9 Selection chart for narrow-section industrial V belts.
Figures 7-10, 7-11, and 7-12 give the rated power per belt for the three cross
sections as a function of the pitch diameter of the smaller sheave and its speed
of rotation.
The basic power rating for a speed ratio of 1 is given as the solid curve. A given
belt can carry a greater power as the speed ratio increases, up to a ratio of
approximately 3.38. Further increases have little effect and may also lead to
trouble with the angle of wrap on the smaller sheave. Figure 7-13 is a plot of
the data for power to be added to the basic rating as a function of speed ratio
for the 5V belt size. The catalog data are given in a stepwise fashion.
 The maximum power added, for ratios of above 3.38, was used to draw the
dashed curves in Figures 7-10, 7-11, and 7-12.In most cases, a rough interpola-
tion between the two curves is satisfactory.
Figure 7-14 gives the value of a correction factor, Cϴ, as a function of the
angle of wrap of the belt on the small sheave ,θ1.
 Figure 7-15 gives the value of the correction factor, CL for belt length. A
longer belt is desirable because it reduces the frequency with which a given
part of the belt encounters the stress peak as it enters the small sheave. Only
certain standard belt lengths are available (Table 7-2).
Example:
Design a V-belt drive that has the input sheave on the shaft of an electric
motor (normal torque) rated at 50 hp at 1160-rpm, full-load speed. The drive is
to a bucket elevator in a potash plant that is to be used 12 hours (h) daily at
approximately 675 rpm.

D2=1.72D1=22.65 in
use Fig.(7-11) as guide
Grater than 120
Belt Tension
The initial tension given to a belt is critical because it ensures that the belt will
not slip under the design load. At rest, the two sides of the belt have the same
tension. As power is being transmitted, the tension in the tight side increases
while the tension in the slack side decreases. Without the initial tension, the
slack side would go totally loose, and the belt would not seat in the groove;
thus, it would slip. Manufacturers' catalogs give data for the proper belt-
tensioning procedures.
 Synchronous Belt Drives
Synchronous belts are constructed with ribs or teeth across the underside of
the belt, as shown in the below Figure. The teeth mate with corresponding
grooves in the driving and driven pulleys, called sprockets, providing a positive
drive without slippage. Therefore, there is a fixed relationship between the
speed of the driver and the speed of the driven sprocket. For this reason
synchronous belts are often called timing belts. In contrast, V-belts can creep
or slip with respect to their mating sheaves, especially under heavy loads and
varying power demand. Synchronous action is critical to the successful
operation of such systems as printing, material handling, packaging, and
assembly.
At least one of the two sprockets will have side flanges to ensure that the belt
does not move axially.
 The four common tooth pitches and sizes for commercially available
synchronous belts. The pitch is the distance from the center of one tooth to
the center of the next adjacent tooth. Standard pitches are 5 mm, 8 mm, 14
mm, and 20 mm .

Dimension of standard synchronous belts

 Homework
Design a V belt drive and specify the belt sizes, the number of belts , the actual
output speed and the center distance , for the given data: