A Study of Belt Natural Frequency

In the vibration analysis of machinery with V-belt drives, the belt behavior is an essential component to understand. Because of its special physical characteristics, there are many unclear issues regarding belts in the system. The SpectraQuest Machinery Fault Simulator provides a way to perform studies on a belt drive. This test is the first one in a series of tests on power transmission V-belts. Objective To determine relations between belt natural frequency and belt tensions. Device under Test SpectraQuest Machinery Fault Simulator (MFS), two A30 belts and two A42 belts Testing Equipment VibraQuest Data acquisition and analysis software, SpectraPad portable data acquisition device, one SpectraQuest force transducer, six PCB accelerometers, and one PCB modal hammer. Test Setup

Test Setup A30 belt mounted The whole test setup is demonstrated in the picture above. Each belt has three accelerometers mounted with glue at equal distance along the span.

Tension Adjustment A screw on the base tunes the belt tension. The force is measured via the force transducer mounted in the bearing house. Since the force transducer only measures the vertical and horizontal direction, we need to convert them by measuring the angle between the belt and the base plate.

SpectraPad Portable Data Acquisition Device All the sensors are connected to portable SpectraPad shown above. The SpectraPad communicate with laptop via PCMCIA. Test Procedure 1. Start the hammer test DAQ panel in VibraQuest, which is shown below. All the channels have already been setup.

Hammer Test Panel, User can reject or accept the current data block

2. Mount the A42 belt on the MFS. Set the belt tension to the low tension (the combined force on twin belt pulley was 16 lbs.). The hammer firstly hits left side belt till we accept 6 good data block without double hammer. Then repeat at the right side belt for another 6 good data block. Save the file. This was done to obtain a data set with good modal resolution while averaging. There is a small difference in natural frequencies of each belt. Averaging them together provided some smear. 3. Repeat step 2 for middle- (84 lbs.), high- (168 lbs.) and extreme (318 lbs.) tension. 4. Repeat step 2 and 3 for A30 belt. The test was performed at low- (30 lbs.), middle- (76.7 lbs.), high- (163.5 lbs.) and extreme (289.3 lbs.). Test Data and Analysis The data file is plotted with Dynamic Spectrum Analysis module in VibraQuest. The spectrum is obtained by averaging 6 data blocks on one side. It clearly shows spikes at three locations that are first three modes for the belt. See the graph below.

By going through the data files, we get all the location information, plotted with tension on a single belt:
Belt Mode Frequency Trending A30
300

250

200 First Mode Frequency Left Belt Frequency (Hz) First Mode Frequency Right Belt 150 Second Mode Frequency Left Belt Second Mode Frequency Right Belt Third Mode Frequency Left Belt 100 Third Mode Frequency Right Belt

50

0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 Total pulley force (Lbs)

Belt Mode Frequency Trending A42

180

160

140

First Mode Frequency Left Belt

120 Frequency (Hz)

First Mode Frequency Right Belt Second Mode Frequency Left Belt

100

Second Mode Frequency Right Belt

80

Third Mode Frequency Left Belt Third Mode Frequency Right Belt

60

40

20

0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 Total pulley force (Lbs)

Comparison to theory The belt can be modeled as either a string or a beam. The string derivation assumes the string cross-section moment of inertia is zero and that structural support exists due to a change in shape (e.g. sag) at constant tension. The beam derivation assumes no effects due to beam deflection and that structural support exists due to an internal moment and non-zero cross section moment of inertia. Since a V-belt is very flexible, the string model is expected to more closely approximate reality. To support the calculation, the belts were weighed and the active length (i.e. unsupported span) was measured. They were as follows: For the A42 belt 0.271 lbs and 15.7 inches, and for the A30 belt: 0.195 lbs and 9.69 inches. From Thomsons Theory of Vibration with Applications the equation for the natural frequency of a string is given by: fn= (n/2l) * (T/p)1/2 where n=1,2,3, Where n is the normal modes, and p is the density per unit length, T is the tension, and l is the length. Knowing that the belt total lengths are 30 and 42 the above formula can be employed with the given information to yield the following; For the A30 belt: fn= 12.57n(T)1/2 Hz where n=1,2,3, For the A42 belt: fn= 7.79n(T)1/2 Hz where n=1,2,3,

(1)

(2)

Since there are two belts, the tension in one belt is approximately of the total pulley force indicated in the above charts. Using this tension, the above equations give a frequency that is higher than the experimental results for all but one data point. The frequencies based on the equations for the four data points are: A42 belt: 16, 36, 51 and 70 Hz; and for the A30 belt 35, 55, 81, 108 Hz. The average deviation from the experimentally determined frequency (indicated in the graph) is approximately 25%. Conclusion The results clearly indicate that the belt natural frequencies are a strong function of the tension. There are several ways the experimental data agrees with string theory: 1) Fundamental modes vary linearly with the mode number. 2) The natural frequency has a slight less than linear dependence on belt tension (excluding the extreme high-tension data points. 3) There is rough agreement between the theoretical predictions and the experimental results. This, together with the spectrum graph showing the expected relationship of the amplitude with transducer position for the first three fundamental frequencies supports the conclusion the data and calculations are valid, however, further investigation is needed to explain the discrepancy with theory for a vibrating string.