Belt, Rope and Chain

Drives
Dr. Hilla Limann Technical
University

.Mechanical Engineering Dept

1. Introduction

The belts or ropes are used to transmit

power from one shaft to another by means
of pulleys which rotate at the same speed or
at different speeds. The amount of power
transmitted depends upon the following
factors :
1. The velocity of the belt.
2. The tension under which the belt is
placed on the pulleys.
3. The arc of contact between the belt and
the smaller pulley.
4. The conditions under which the belt is
 It may be noted
that
(a) The shafts should be properly in line to insure uniform tension
across the belt section.

(b) The pulleys should not be too close together, in order that the
arc of contact on the smaller pulley may be as large as possible.

(c) The pulleys should not be so far apart as to cause the belt to
weigh heavily on the shafts, thus increasing the friction load on
the bearings.

(d) A long belt tends to swing from side to side, causing the belt to
run out of the pulleys, which in turn develops crooked spots in
the belt.
(e) The tight side of the belt should be at the bottom, so that
whatever sag is present on the loose side will increase the arc of
contact at the pulleys.

( f ) In order to obtain good results with flat belts, the maximum

distance between the shafts should not exceed 10 metres and the
minimum should not be less than 3.5 times the diameter of the
larger pulley.
 Selection of a Belt Drive
Following are the various important factors upon which the
selection of a belt drive depends:

1.Speed of the driving and driven shafts,

2.Speed reduction ratio,
3.Power to be transmitted,
4.Centre distance between the shafts,
5.Positive drive requirements,
6.Shafts layout,
7.Space available, and
8.Service conditions.
Types of Belt Drives
The belt drives are usually classified into the
following three groups :

1.Light drives. These are used to transmit small

powers at belt speeds upto about 10 m/s, as in
agricultural machines and small machine tools.

2.Medium drives. These are used to transmit

medium power at belt speeds over 10 m/s but
up to 22 m/s, as in machine tools.

1.Heavy drives. These are used to transmit

large powers at belt speeds above 22 m/s, as in
compressors and generators.
Types of Belts
Though there are many types of belts used
these days, yet the following are important
from
the subject point of view :
1. Flat belt. The flat belt, as shown above, is
mostly used in the factories and workshops,
where a moderate amount of power is to be
transmitted, from one pulley to another
when the two pulleys are not more than 8
metres apart.

2. V-belt. The V-belt, as shown above, is mostly

used in the factories and workshops, where a
moderate amount of power is to be
transmitted, from one pulley to another,
when the two pulleys are very near to each
other.
3. Circular belt or rope. The circular belt or
rope, as shown above, is mostly used in the
factories and workshops, where a great
amount of power is to be transmitted, from
one pulleyto another, when the two pulleys
are more than 8 meters apart.
If a huge amount of power is to be transmitted, then a
single belt may not be sufficient. In such a case, wide
pulleys (for V-belts or circular belts) with a number of
grooves are used. Then a belt in each groove is provided
to transmit the required amount of power from one
pulley to another.
Types of Flat Belt
Drives

Open belt drive.

 Crossed or twist belt drive.
A little consideration will show that at a point where the belt
crosses, it rubs against each other and there will be excessive wear
and tear. In order to avoid this, the shafts should be placed at a
maximum distance of 20 b, where b is the width of belt and the
speed of the belt should be less than 15 m/s.
In order to prevent the belt from leaving the pulley, the width of the
face of the pulley should be greater or equal to 1.4 b, where b is the
width of belt.
Compound belt drive
Stepped or cone pulley drive. Fast and loose pulley drive
 Velocity Ratio of Belt Drive

When the thickness of the belt (t) is considered, then

,velocity ratio

d1 = Diameter of the driver,

d2 = Diameter of the follower,
N1 = Speed of the driver in r.p.m., and
N2 = Speed of the follower in r.p.m.
Velocity Ratio of a Compound Belt Drive
Slip of Belt
Slip occurs when frictional grip between
belt and shaft is insufficient. This may
cause some forward motion of the driver
without carrying the belt with it. This may
also cause some forward motion of the
belt without carrying the driven pulley
with it.

The result of the belt slipping is to reduce

the velocity ratio of the system
where s = s1 + s2, i.e. total percentage of slip
 Creep of Belt

When the belt passes from the slack side to the

tight side, a certain portion of the belt extends and
it contracts again when the belt passes from the
tight side to slack side. Due to these changes of
length, there is a relative motion between the belt
and the pulley surfaces. This relative motion is
termed as creep. The total effect of creep is to
reduce slightly the speed of the driven pulley or
follower. Considering creep, the velocity ratio is
given by

σ1 and σ2 = Stress in the belt on the tight and slack side respectively
Length of an Open Belt Drive
r1 and r2 = Radii of the larger and smaller pulleys,
x = Distance between the centres of two pulleys (i.e. O1 O2), and
L = Total length of the belt.
Length of a Cross Belt Drive
Example: Two pulleys, one 450 mm diameter and
the other 200 mm diameter are on parallel shafts
1.95 m apart and are connected by a crossed
belt. Find the length of the belt required.
 Power Transmitted by a
Belt

T1 and T2 = Tensions in the tight and slack side of the belt

respectively in newtons,
 Analysis of belt tension:

The forces acting on the element of a flat belt are shown in figure
below
The relationship between the forces P1 , P2, and the centrifugal
force for a flat belt can be expressed as:
where
P1= belt tension in the tight side(N)
P2= belt tension in the loose side(N)
m=mass of the one meter length of the belt (kg/m)
v= belt velocity (m/s)
f= coefficient of friction
α=angle of warp for belt (radians)

For open belt drive Crossed Belt drive

Example: The layout of a leather belt drive transmitting 15
kW of power is shown below. The center distance between the
pulleys is twice the diameter of the bigger pulley. The belt
should operate at a velocity of 20m/s approximately and the
stresses in the belt should not exceed 2.25 N /mm2. The
density of leather is 0.95 g/cc and the coefficient of friction is
0.35. The thickness of the belt is 5mm. Calculate
To find the diameter of the pulley,
To evaluate the belt width and belt tension, the corrected
velocity can be evaluated as
The volume of 1 meter belt in cubic cm is given by:

Where b is the width in mm

The mass of 1m length of the belt can be calculated as:
The maximum stress in the belt is given as 2.25 N/mm2

Solve equations a, b and c to get

EN D