Discussion

1. The benefit of using V-belt compared to the flat belt

The V-belt drive gives compactness due to the small distance between centres of
pulleys. The drive is positive, because the slip between the belt and the pulley groove
is negligible. Since the V-belts are made endless and there is no joint trouble, therefore
the drive is smooth. It provides longer life, 3 to 5 years. It can be easily installed and
removed. The operation of the belt and pulley is quiet. The belts have the ability to
cushion the shock when machines are started. The high velocity ratio (maximum 10)
may be obtained. The wedging action of the belt in the groove gives high value of
limiting *ratio of tensions. Therefore the power transmitted by V-belts is more than flat
belts for the same coefficient of friction, arc of contact and allowable tension in the
belts. The V-belt may be operated in either direction, with tight side of the belt at the
top or bottom. The centre line may be horizontal, vertical or inclined.

2. The effect of the contact angle to the coefficient of friction for both
3. Details from the experiment
4. Real life application

An understanding of belt friction is essential for sailing crews and mountain climbers
as the climbers need to face a different angle of every steeps of the mountain. Their
professions require being able to understand the amount of weight a rope with a
certain tension capacity can hold versus the amount of wraps around a pulley. So, this
can be related to this experiment where there is a tension that acts on the belt at
difeerent angle. Too many revolutions around a pulley make it inefficient to retract or
release rope, and too few may cause the rope to slip. Misjudging the ability of a rope
and capstan system to maintain the proper frictional forces may lead to failure and
injury.
5. Applications of belt drive mechanism

The treadmill is another great example of a belt driven mechanism. The belt in this
drive system is not to be confused with the tread on which the runner directly runs;
rather the belt drive system is the toothed, synchronous belt that transfers the rotary
motion from the central motor to the drive pulley. This drive is typically located in
the rear of the treadmill, but it can sometimes be positioned in the front. These are
 also usually high performance, toothed synchronous belt drives, but it wouldn’t be
uncommon to find a flat friction belts, or V-belts drive in an older treadmill
model. These belts must be capable of operating efficiently under the continuous,
shock loading of the endless plodding of the runner’s foot striking on the
tread. Under these dynamic loading conditions, the belt drive must be capable of
maintaining a consistent speed profile without slipping. Other example is sewing
machine, that is employed to transfer motion between the motor and sewing pulleys.
The belt/pulley mechanism within the sewing machine serves to transfer the rotary
motion of the main drive motor to the larger spool head that drives the sewing
mechanism. In older, antique style sewing machines, the belt is impossible to miss
because it is typically exposed right on the outside of the machine, whereas, in
modern machines, it is enclosed within the casing of the machine. Additionally, in
modern machines, sometimes there can be multiple belts chained together via an
intermediary pulley. Similar to the treadmill, in older sewing machines the belt drive
is a flat or V-belt drive while in newer, more modern drives, the belt drive is a
toothed, synchronous profile drive.

6. Possible applications of this experiment and its limitation

Other possible applications that can be used in this experiments are timing belt
and rope drive. Timing belt which is also known as the toothed belt. It is a positive
transfer belt. They can transmit power at a constant speed with no slippage. They are
used in synchronous power transmission. Timing belt have high torque carrying
capacity. There are no slipping between the belt and pulleys. The power transmission
at a constant speed and lubricants are not required. However its limtitations are they
are not economical. They need a sophisticated design of the belt as well as the
pulley.There are no clutch action which is not possible and no protection against
overloading. For rope drive, they used where an enormous amount of power is to be
transmitted over large distance. It can be used for long distance because Ropes are
strong and flexible and it also provides smooth and quiet operation. However, internal
failure of the rope has no sign on external, so it if often get unnoticed due to the
corrosion of wire rope.