LESSON 20.

SELECTION OF BELTS
20.1 Selection of Flat Belt
In most of the applications, belts are generally selected by the designer from the manufacturer’s
catalogue. This helps in the use of standard available sizes. Following input data is required for
the selection of belt:

1. Power to be transmitted

2. Transmission ratio

3. Centre distance

Following is the procedure for selection of a flat belt:

1. Select suitable belt material

Two types of belts are generally available – HI-SPEED duck belting and FORT duck belting.
Specified transmission capacities of these two types, for an angle of contact of 180°and belt
velocity of 5.08 m/s, is as follows:

Type of Belt Transmission Capacity/ Power Rating (R)

HI-SPEED 0.012 kW / mm width / ply
FORT 0.015 kW / mm width / ply

2. Assume belt velocity and calculate diameters of pulleys

Optimum value of belt velocity lies between 15 m/s to 25 m/s. Assume any value for belt velocity,
within this range and calculate diameter of the smaller (driving) pulley using the following
relationship:

where, v = velocity of belt

N1 = input speed (rpm) of smaller pulley

Diameter of larger pulley (D) can be calculated, for required velocity ratio i.e. for required output
speed (N2), using the following relationship:

N1d = N2D

3. Calculate design power

For design purpose, maximum power transmitted by the belt is obtained by multiplying the
required power (P) by a load correction factor (Kload). Value of Kload can be taken from Table 20.1.
Also, Power transmission capacity of belts (Step 1) is based on angle of contact of 180°. But in
actual conditions, angle of contact varies depending upon diameters of pulleys and centre distance.
If angle of contact is less than 180°, there is additional tension in the belt. This is taken care of, by
multiplying the required power to be transmitted by angle of contact factor, Ka.. Value of Ka can
be taken from Table 20.2. Design power of the belt is thus given by,

Table 20.1 Load Correction Factor, Kload

Type of Load Kload
Normal Load 1.0
Steady Load (light machine tools, fans, centrifugal pumps, conveyors etc.) 1.2
Intermittent (compressors, blowers, heavy-duty fans, line shafts, reciprocating 1.3
Load pumps, heavy-duty machines etc.)
Shock Load (hammers, grinders, rolling mills, vacuum pumps etc.) 1.5

Table 20.2 Angle of Contact Factor, Ka

Angle of 120° 130° 140° 150° 160° 170° 180° 190° 200° 210°
Contact
(as)
Angle of 1.33 1.26 1.19 1.13 1.08 1.04 1.00 0.97 0.94 0.91
Contact
Factor, Ka
4. Determine corrected power rating

Power transmission capacity of belts (Step 1) is based on belt velocity of 5.08 m/s. But in actual
conditions, belts run at different speeds. For different velocity, corrected power rating is obtained
as follows:

where, R is Power Transmission Capacity or Rating of belt and v is actual belt velocity.

5. Calculate the product of width and number of plies by dividing maximum power to be
transmitted by corrected power rating.

6. Select suitable width and number of plies

Suitable width and number of plies can now be selected from the catalogue so that the desired
product is obtained. Table 20.3 gives standard width thickness and number of plies for rubber belts.

Table 20.3 Rubber Belt Data

No. of Plies Thickness (mm) Belt Width (mm)
3 3.9 25, 32, 40, 50, 63, 71
4 5.2 40, 50, 63, 71, 80, 90, 100, 112, 125, 140
5 6.5 71, 80, 90, 100, 112, 125, 140, 160
6 7.8 112, 125, 140, 160, 180, 200, 224, 250
7 9.1 160, 180, 200, 224, 250, 280, 315
8 10.4 224, 250, 280, 315, 355, 400, 450, 500

7. Calculate desired length of belt and specify all the dimensions.

20.2 Selection of V-Belts
V-belts are also selected from the manufacturer’s catalogue. Following is the procedure for
selection of a flat belt:

1. Select suitable V-belt section

Five types of standard V-belt sections are available. Dimensions of these are given in Table 20.4.
Refer figure 20.1 for basic dimensions of the trapezoidal section of V-belt.

Table 20.4 Dimensions of V-belt Sections

Section A B C D E
Pitch Width, wp (mm) 11 14 19 27 32
Nominal Top Width, w (mm) 13 17 22 32 38
Nominal Thickness, t (mm) 8 11 14 19 23
Recommended Velocity (m/s) 25 25 25 30 30
Recommended Power Range (kW) 0.4 - 4.0 1.5 - 15 10 - 70 35 - 150 70 – 260
Recommended Minimum 125 200 315 500 630
Pitch Diameter of Pulley (mm)
2. Determine diameters of pulleys

Recommended diameter of smaller pulley (d) can be taken from table 20.4 for selected cross-
section. Diameter of larger pulley (D) can be calculated, for required velocity ratio i.e. for given
input speed (N1) and required output speed (N2), using the following relationship:

N1d = N2D

3. Calculate design power

For design purpose, maximum power transmitted by the belt is obtained by multiplying the
required power (P) by service factor (Ks). Value of Ks can be taken between 1 and 2, depending
upon the service conditions i.e. light, medium, heavy or extra-heavy duty, type of driver and driven
machinery and operational hours.

Pdesign = Ks X P

4. Determine Pitch Length and Centre Distance

Calculate length of the belt from its relation with d, D and C. Select the nearest standard value of
belt pitch length from table 20.5. Calculate exact centre distance, C from the relation again.

Table 20.5 Belt Pitch Lengths & Pitch Length Correction Factor
Belt Pitch Length (mm) Pitch Length Correction Factor, Klength
Belt Cross-section
A B C D E
630 0.80
930 0.81
700 1560 2740 0.82
1000 0.83
790 1760 0.84
1100 0.85
890 3130 0.86
1210 1950 3330 0.87
990 0.88
1100 1370 2190 3730 4660 0.90
2340 0.91
1560 2490 4080 5040 0.92
1250 0.93
2720 4620 5420 0.94
1760 2800 0.95
1430 3080 6100 0.96
1950 5400 0.97
1550 3310 0.98
1640 2180 3520 6850 0.99
1750 2300 6100 1.00
1940 2500 4060 7650 1.02
6840 1.03
2050 2700 1.04
2200 2850 4600 7620 9150 1.05
2300 1.06
8410 9950 1.07
2480 3200 5380 1.08
2570 9140 10710 1.09
2700 3600 1.10
6100 1.11
2910 10700 12230 1.12
3080 4060 1.13
3290 6860 13750 1.14
4430 1.15
3540 4820 7600 12200 1.16
5000 13700 15280 1.17
5370 1.18
6070 15200 16800 1.19
9100 1.20
 10700 1.21
Table 20.6 Angle of Contact Factor, 𝐾𝛼

Angle of Contact Angle of Contact Factor, 𝐾𝛼

on Smaller Pulley, 𝛼

0.00 180 1.00

0.05 177 0.99

0.10 174 0.99

0.15 171 0.98

0.20 169 0.97

0.25 166 0.97

0.30 163 0.96

0.35 160 0.95

0.40 157 0.94

0.45 154 0.93

0.50 151 0.93

0.55 148 0.92

0.60 145 0.91

0.65 142 0.90

0.70 139 0.89

0.75 136 0.88

0.80 133 0.87

 0.85 130 0.86

0.90 127 0.85

0.95 123 0.83

1.00 120 0.82

5. Determine corrected power rating

Power transmission capacity / rating (R) for a single V-belt, for different types of cross-sections,
can be taken from manufacturer’s catalogue. Corrected power rating is obtained by multiplying
the power rating by Pitch Length Correction Factor (Klength) and Angle of Contact Factor, 𝐾𝛼 as
follows:

Values of Klength and 𝐾𝛼 can be taken from table 20.5 and table 20.6 respectively.

6. Determine the number of belts required

Required number of belts is determined by dividing the design power with corrected power rating
for one belt.

References
1. Design of Machine Elements by VB Bhandari

2. Fundamentals of Machine Component Design by R.C. Juvinall & K.M. Marshek

3. Mechanical Engineering Design by J.E. Shigley

4. Analysis and Design of Machine Elements by V.K. Jadon

5. Design of Machine Elements by C.S. Sharma & K. Purohit

6. Machine Design by R.S. Khurmi