Lecture_18-19

Flat belt Drives

Introduction
• The belts 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 used.
Cont’d…
• 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 meter 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,
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 up to about 10 m/s as in
agricultural machines and small machine tools.
2. Medium drives. These are used to transmit
medium powers at belt speeds over 10 m/s but up
to 22 m/s, as in machine tools.
3. Heavy drives. These are used to transmit large
powers at belt speeds above 22 m/s as in
compressors and generators.
Types of Belts
• The most common types of belts are;
1. Flat belt. The flat belt as shown in Fig.(a), 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 in Fig.(b), is mostly used
in the factories and workshops, where a great 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 in Fig.(c) is mostly used in the factories and
workshops, where a great amount of power is to be
transmitted, from one pulley to another, when the two
pulleys are more than 8 metres apart.
Cont’d…
• 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.
Material used for Belts
• The material used for belts and ropes must be strong,
flexible, and durable. It must have a high coefficient of
friction. The belts, according to the material used, are
classified as follows:
1. Leather belts. The most important material for flat belt is
leather.
• The best leather belts are made from 1.2 meters to 1.5
meters.
• The hair side of the leather is smoother and harder than the
flesh side, but the flesh side is stronger.
• The fibers on the hair side are perpendicular to the surface,
while those on the flesh side are interwoven and parallel to
the surface.
• The hair side of a belt should be in contact with the pulley
surface
Cont’d…
• The leather may be either oak-tanned or mineral salt-tanned
e.g. chrome-tanned.
• In order to increase the thickness of belt, the strips are
cemented together
• The belts are specified according to the number of layers e.g.
single, double or triple ply and according to the thickness of
hides used e.g.light, medium or heavy.
• The leather belts must be periodically cleaned
Cont’d…
2. Cotton or fabric belts. Most of the fabric belts are made by
folding convass or cotton duck to three or more layers
(depending upon the thickness desired) and stitching together.
• These belts are woven also into a strip of the desired width
and thickness.
• They are impregnated with some filler like linseed oil in
order to make the belt water-proof and to prevent injury to
the fibers.
• The cotton belts are cheaper and suitable in warm climates,
in damp atmospheres and in exposed positions.
• Since the cotton belts require little attention, therefore these
belts are mostly used in farm machinery, belt conveyor etc.
Cont’d…
3. Rubber belt. The rubber belts are made of layers of fabric
impregnated with rubber composition and have a thin layer of
rubber on the faces.
• These belts are very flexible but are quickly destroyed if
allowed to come into contact with heat, oil or grease.
• One of the principle advantage of these belts is that they may be
easily made endless.
• These belts are found suitable for saw mills, paper mills where
they are exposed to moisture.
4. Balata belts. These belts are similar to rubber belts except that
balata gum is used in place of rubber.
• These belts are acid proof and water proof and it is not effected
by animal oils or alkalies.
• The balata belts should not be at temperatures above 40°C
because at this temperature the balata begins to soften and
becomes sticky.
• The strength of balata belts is 25% higher than rubber belts.
Working Stresses in Belts
• The ultimate strength of leather belt varies from 21 to 35
MPa and a factor of safety may be taken as 8 to 10.
• Under average conditions an allowable stress of 2.8 MPa or
less will give a reasonable belt life.
• An allowable stress of 1.75 MPa may be expected to give a
belt life of about 15 years.

Density of Belt Materials

Belt Speed
• A little consideration will show that when the speed
of belt increases, the centrifugal force also increases
which tries to pull the belt away from the pulley.
• This will result in the decrease of power transmitted
by the belt.
• It has been found that for the efficient transmission
of power, the belt speed 20 m/s to 22.5 m/s may be
used.
Coefficient of Friction Between Belt
and Pulley
• The coefficient of friction between the belt and the pulley
depends upon the following factors:
1. The material of belt;
2. The material of pulley;
3. The slip of belt; and
4. The speed of belt.
• According to C.G. Barth, the coefficient of friction (μ) for
oak tanned leather belts on cast iron pulley, at the point of
slipping, is given by the following relation, i.e.

v = Speed of the belt in meters per minute.

Cont’d…
Standard Belt Thicknesses and Widths
• The preferred values of thicknesses are as follows:
a) 5 mm for nominal belt widths of 35 to 63 mm,
b) 6.5 mm for nominal belt widths of 50 to 140 mm,
c) 8 mm for nominal belt widths of 90 to 224 mm,
d) 10 mm for nominal belt widths of 125 to 400 mm, and
e) 12 mm for nominal belt widths of 250 to 600 mm.
• The standard values of nominal belt widths are;
a) in R10 series, starting from 25 mm up to 63 mm
b) in R 20 series starting from 71 mm up to 600 mm.
• the standard widths will be 25, 32, 40, 50, 63, 71, 80, 90,
100, 112, 125, 140, 160, 180, 200, 224, 250, 280, 315, 355,
400, 450, 500, 560 and 600 mm.
Belt Joints
• When the endless belts are not available, then the belts are cut
from big rolls and the ends are joined together by fasteners. The
various types of joints are;
1. Cemented joint, as shown in Fig. (a), made by the
manufacturer to form an endless belt, is preferred than other
joints.
2. Laced joint is formed by punching holes in line across the
belt, leaving a margin between the edge and the holes.
• A raw hide strip is used for lacing the two ends together to form
a joint. This type of joint is known as straight-stitch raw hide
laced joint, as shown in Fig.(b).
3. Metal laced joint as shown in Fig.(c), is made like a staple
connection. The points are driven through the flesh side of the belt
and clinched on the inside.
• Sometimes, metal hinges may be fastened to the belt ends and
connected by a steel or fiber pin as shown in Fig.(d).
Cont’d…
Efficiencies of belt joints.
Types of Flat Belt Drives
1. Open belt drive. The open belt drive, as shown in Fig., is
used with shafts arranged parallel and rotating in the same
direction.
• The side with higher tension known as tight side.
• The side with lower tension known as slack side.
Cont’d…
2. Crossed or twist belt drive. The crossed or twist belt drive,
as shown in Fig., is used with shafts arranged parallel and
rotating in the opposite directions.
• 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.
Cont’d…
3. Quarter turn belt drive. The quarter turn belt drive (also
known as right angle belt drive) as shown in Fig.(a), is used
with shafts arranged at right angles and rotating in one definite
direction.
• 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 width of belt.
• In case the pulleys cannot be arranged as shown in Fig. 18.6
(a) or when the reversible motion is desired, then a quarter
turn belt drive with a guide pulley, as shown in Fig. (b),
may be used.
Cont’d…
Cont’d…
4. Belt drive with idler pulleys. A belt drive with an idler
pulley (also known as jockey pulley drive) as shown in Fig.(b),
is used with shafts arranged parallel and when an open belt
drive can not be used due to small angle of contact on the
smaller pulley.
• This type of drive is provided to obtain high velocity ratio
and when the required belt tension can not be obtained by
other means.
• When it is desired to transmit motion from one shaft to
several shafts, all arranged in parallel, a belt drive with many
idler pulleys, as shown in Fig.(b), may be employed.
Cont’d…
Cont’d…
5. Compound belt drive. A compound belt drive as shown in
Fig., is used when power is transmitted from one shaft to
another through a number of pulleys.
Cont’d…
6. Stepped or cone pulley drive. A stepped or cone pulley
drive, as shown in Fig. is used for changing the speed of the
driven shaft while the main or driving shaft runs at constant
speed. This is accomplished by shifting the belt from one part
of the steps to the other.
Cont’d…
7. Fast and loose pulley drive. A fast and loose pulley drive, as
shown in Fig., is used when the driven or machine shaft is to be
started or stopped whenever desired without interfering with the
driving shaft.
• A pulley which is keyed to
the machine shaft is called
fast pulley and runs at the same
speed as that of machine shaft.
loose pulley runs freely over
the machine shaft and is incapable
of transmitting any power.
• When the driven shaft is required
to be stopped, the belt is pushed
on to the loose pulley by means of
sliding bar having belt forks.
Velocity Ratio of a Belt Drive
• It is the ratio between the velocities of the driver and the
follower or driven. It may be expressed, mathematically, as
discussed below:
• Let d1 = Diameter of the driver,
d2 = Diameter of the follower,
N1 = Speed of the driver in r.p.m.,
N2 = Speed of the follower in r.p.m.,
∴ Length of the belt that passes over the driver, in one minute
= π d1 N1
• Similarly, length of the belt that passes over the follower, in
one minute
= π d2 N2
Cont’d…
• Since the length of belt that passes over the driver in one
minute is equal to the length of belt that passes over the
follower in one minute, therefore
π d1 N1 = π d2 N2
and velocity ratio,
When thickness of the belt (t) is considered, then velocity
ratio,

Notes : 1. The velocity ratio of a belt drive may also be

obtained as discussed below:
We know that the peripheral velocity of the belt on the driving
pulley,
Cont’d…
peripheral velocity of the belt on the driven pulley,

When there is no slip, then ν1 = ν2.

2. In case of a compound belt drive, the velocity ratio is given

by;