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Business Management Ideas

Belt Drives & Its


Classification | Power
Transmission | Mechanical
Engineering
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Power transmission by belt drive is one of the most


common and universally used methods of transmission
system when two shafts are parallel (up to 10 m) to
each other as shown in Fig. 9.1. A belt drive consists of
two parallel shafts and a pulley is mounted on each
shaft.

An endless belt runs over the surface of the pulley.


There may be slippage between them and hence it
cannot be called as a positive drive. When the belt runs
over the pulley, there is always a friction which acts in
between the pulley surface and the belt surface in the
opposite direction of motion. The belt transmits power
by friction only. The belt drive system can be used for
long center-to-center distance of the shaft. For effective
transmission, friction between the pulley surface and
the belt surface should be as high as possible.

As it is well known, in most of the systems friction is not


a desirable phenomenon and should be as minimum
as possible.

1. Flat Belt Drive:


A belt is a thin band made of leather, synthetic rubber,
canvas, or thread embedded in rubber or balata. These
belts are made flat and rectangular in cross section.
The belts are made endless by joining the two ends of
the belt by pins or stitching as shown in Fig. 9.2.

The system may be applicable for individual drive or


group drive. Individual belt drive can be used when
each machine will have its own electric motor. In case
of group drive, a high-capacity motor drives an
overhead shaft called main shaft or live shaft and the
main shaft drives another shaft called counter shaft
which drives another machine shaft.

The rotational power from driving pulley to the driven


pulley is transmitted due to friction between the belt
surface and the pulley surface. The belt will have two
sides, one side will be in tension called tension side
where as the other side will be in lesser tension called
slack side as shown in Fig. 9.3.
The tension side (T1) and the slack side (T2) of the belt
depend on the direction of rotation of the driving pulley.

Advantages and disadvantages of flat belts:

Advantages:

i. Simple method, universally used arrangement,


operation is smooth if the belt is of proper size.

ii. Low maintenance cost and long life.

iii. Flexibility is more.

iv. The level of shock is less.

v. Suitable for two parallel shafts.

vi. Suitable for long distances between two center-to-


center shafts.

Disadvantages:

i. Endless belt is made by joining the two ends by pins.


The belt tends to get damaged near the joints which
reduces its life. This may require periodic replacement
of the belt.

ii. The system is not suitable for short-distance shaft.

iii. Efficiency is found less due to slippage and creep, if


the size of the belt is not proper.

iv. The system is not a positive drive.

Flat belt arrangement may be of two types:

(a) Open flat belt drive and

(b) Cross flat belt drive.

(a) Open Flat Belt Drive:

Figure 9.3 shows an open flat belt drive arrangement.


There are two pulleys mounted on two parallel shafts.
A flat belt runs over the pulley straight. The belt keeps
running in the same direction. This arrangement is
most suitable when the center-to-center distance of the
two shafts is large and both sides of the belt are
parallel to each other. Pulley A is driver pulley and B is
driven pulley and the rotation of both A and B is
clockwise. The lower portion of the belt is the tight side
with tension T1 and the upper side of the belt is the
slack side with tension T2 such that T1 > T2.

(b) Cross Flat Belt Arrangement:

The arrangement of a cross flat belt arrangement is


shown in Fig. 9.4. It is used when two shafts are
parallel to each other but they are to be rotated in
opposite direction. Driving pulley shaft A is rotated in
clockwise direction whereas driven pulley shaft B is
rotated in anti-clockwise direction. The two-shaft
center-to-center distance is L.

In this driving system, there is a junction point where


belts are crossing each other and they will have wear
and tear due to constant rubbing effect during
operation. This effect is continuous. However, the
rubbing effects can be avoided by increasing the
center-to-center distance equal to 20 times the width of
the belt. Such system is found suitable when the
system is operated at low velocity.

Belt Slip:

In case, the frictional resistance between the pulley rim


surface and the belt surface is less, there occurs is a
difference in the relative motion between both the
surfaces which is known as belt slip. Belt slip can be
calculated as the difference between the linear speed
of the pulley rim surface and the belt surface. The
usual method is to be measured as percentage.

Belt slip is caused due to the following reasons:

(a) Continuous run of the belt, pulley rim surface


becomes very smooth,

(d) Decrease in the coefficient of friction in between the


two surfaces.

(c) Increase in the length of belt due to constant


operation.

(d) Large difference in the tension of the tight side (T1)


and the slack side (T2).

Creep in Belt Drive:

Creep is caused due to the presence of the relative


motion of a belt or pulley. It is due to the increased
length of belt. During operation, there is a continuous
run of the belt or pulley and there is an alternate
contraction and stretching of the belt. Thus, there is a
loss of power. Due to creep in the belt, less effective
power can be transferred and hence, there occurs a
decrease in the speed ratio.

Jockey Pulley/Idle Pulley:

A small pulley which is placed on the slack side of the


belt and nearer to the driven pulley B is called jockey
pulley as shown in Fig. 9.5. Pulley C is the jockey
pulley and it is also called idle pulley.
Following are the advantages and disadvantages of
an idle pulley:

(a) It increases the tension T2 in the slack side of belt.

(b) It increases the angle of contact.

(c) It reduces slip.

(d) It increases the power transmission effectiveness.

(e) It reduces the belt life due to increase in the slack


side tension by the placement of jockey pulley.

Stepped Pulley System:

In case of a stepped pulley system, a single pulley is


made in three steps as shown in Fig. 9.6(a). It is made
of cast iron. Two such pulleys are mounted on two
parallel shafts as shown in Fig. 9.6(b).

In Fig. 9.6(b), A is the driving shaft and B is the driven


shaft. The shafts are placed parallel to each other and
they are so aligned that the largest pulley of A falls just
opposite to the smallest pulley of driven pulley B. The
diameter of all steps of A and B are so adjusted that
the same belt can be used. The arrangement is useful
for changing the velocity ratio by shifting the belt from
one step to another. Sometimes, the system can be
used with a four-step pulley instead of a three-step
pulley.

Cone Pulley Arrangement:


In this type of pulley arrangement, there are two shafts
mounted with long frustum of cone as shown in Fig.
9.7(a) and they are kept parallel to each other, but
placed in opposite direction. A complete cone pulley
arrangement has been shown in Fig. 9.7(b).

In such arrangement, A is the driving shaft and B is the


driven shaft. A flat belt runs over the surface of the
frustum of cone in a particular position as per the
desired speed ratio. There is a belt shifter “C” in
between them. The belt may be shifted to vary the
speed ratio in an appropriate manner. The
arrangement is very useful and commonly used in
wood-turning lathe work.

Compound Belt Drive System:

In compound belt drive arrangement, a particular shaft


holds two or more pulleys. Such an arrangement is
shown in Figs. 9.8(a) and 9.8(b).

As shown in Figs. 9.8(a) and 9.8(b), for A-B


combination, A is the driving pulley and B is the driven
pulley. For C-D combination, C is the driving pulley and
D is the driven pulley. When it is desired to have
maximum reduction in the speed, the compound belt
drive assembly is considered to be the most important
method. It eliminates the larger driven pulley.

In this combination, pulley B and C are the compound


pulleys, i.e., pulley C is keyed on the same shaft on
which pulley B is. D is another pulley. A belt runs over
A-B and another belt runs over C-D. The speed of
pulley B (nb) and pulley C (nc) is same, i.e., nb = nc.

The speed of pulley D (nd) can be calculated as:

where na, nb, nc and da, db, dc are the speed and
diameter of pulleys A, B, and C, respectively; t is the
belt thickness.

Fast and Loose Pulley:

In a well-organized workshop, several machines are


driven by a single main driving shaft (known as line
shaft) and quite often one machine is to be stopped or
run frequently. In order to stop one machine, the driving
main shaft is to be stopped which hampers the work of
other machines. However, this problem can be
eliminated by introducing the technique as given in Fig.
9.9.
The arrangement facilitates the machine to run or stop
as per our need. Figure 9.9 shows that power is
transmitted from driving pulley A to fast pulley B by
means of belt drive. The fast pulley shaft is connected
with machine to be stopped. Adjacent to this, there is a
free/loose pulley which is free on the shaft and
revolves freely.

If the belt is shifted by belt shifter over to the loose


pulley, which is revolving freely, the fast pulley rotation
gets stopped, thereby stopping the machine shaft
rotation. The belt keeps on running but the fast pulley
becomes free and machine stops quickly.

Symbols and Formulae to be used for Flat Belt:

As shown in Fig. 9.10, let us assume A and B as two


pulleys.

Then,

da = Diameter of the driving pulley, m

db = Diameter of the driven puller, m

ra = Radius of driving pulley

rb = Radius of driven pulley

na = Speed of driving pulley, rpm

nb = Speed of driven pulley, rpm

m = Mass/length of belt (kg/m)

θa = Angle of contact at pulley A

θb = Angle of contact at pulley B


L = Center distance between the driving and the driven
pulley

L0 = Length of belt in open belt drive

Lc = Length of belt in cross-drive

T1 = Tight side tension

T2 = Slack side tension

T = Maximum tension in belt = T1 + T2

T0 = Initial tension in belt = (T1 + T2)/2

Tc = Centrifugal tension = mv2

Tco = Initial tension considering centrifugal tension

= (T1 + T2 + 2Tc )/2

T1 – T2= Net or effective tension in belt

b = Width of belt, m

t = Belt thickness

v = Velocity of belt (m/s)

ωa = Angular velocity of the driving pulley = 2Πna

ωb = Angular velocity of the driven pulley = 2Πnb

P = Power transmitted (kW) = (T1 – T2)v/1000

2. V-Belt Drive:
V-belts are found very suitable for high-power
transmission systems. The cross section of a V-belt is
made trapezoidal as shown in Fig. 9.11. It is molded
from pure rubber/ synthetic rubber with fibrous material
such as load-carrying cords of nylon which have got
fibrous strength. V-belts are structured like an endless
loop of a limited length by the manufacturers
depending upon the system under consideration.
A V-belt tightly fitted and run in a V-groove pulley to
transmit high torque has been shown in Fig. 9.12. As
can be seen, two surfaces of the V-belt are in touch
with the V-groove surface, thereby improving the
frictional forces between the belt and the pulley.
Transmission effectiveness is much improved in this
system.

Due to large friction forces, wear and tear of the V-belt


increases which causes a reduction of the belt life. The
manufacturers are making V-belt in different sizes as
per the requirement. When a V-belt is used for power
transmission, the pulley is modified by providing a
wedge-type groove, so that the V-belt can run in the
groove.
Figure 9.13(a) shows a V-belt pulley that transmits
power with a single V-belt and Fig. 9.13(b) shows
power transmission with three V-belts. In “multi V-belt
drive,” even if one belt fails, the other belts can transmit
powers.

A V-belt has following features:

(a) V-belts are used for the transmission of large power.

(b) Number of V-belts used on same pulley depends on


the power to be transferred.

(c) A V-belt can be used for small center-to-center


distance as compared to a flat belt.

(d) Slip is completely absent as compared to the flat


belt.

(e) It can be used in any position and any direction;


even shaft axis may be inclined.

(f) The installation of V-belt is easy.

(g) The replacement of V-belt is easy.


(h) A V-belt drive is very effective and occupies less
space.

Limitations of V Belt:

(a) The life of a V-belt is short due to wear and tear.

(b) It is not so durable.

(c) The manufacturing of V-belt is complicated and


requires special technique.

(d) If V-belt gets damaged, replacement is the only


alternative which expands the cost.

(e) V-belts can be used within the range of velocity 5-


50 m/s.

(f) In case of replacement of belts, if one belt gets


damaged, all belts of the same set are required to be
replaced.

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