1

FLAT BELT DRIVE

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.
 2

Types of Flat Belt Drives:

1. Open belt drive. The open belt drive, as shown
below, is used with shafts arranged parallel and
rotating in the same direction.
 3

2. Crossed or twist belt drive. The crossed or twist belt

drive, as shown, is used with shafts arranged parallel and
rotating in the opposite directions.
 4

Open Belt

D1=small pulley pitch diameter

D2=large pulley pitch diameter
C=center distance
α=angle of inclination of the pulley with respect to the center line
θ1=angle of contact between belt and small pulley
θ2=angle of contact between belt and large pulley
 5

D2  D1
sin  
2C
1  D2  D1 
  Sin 
 2C 

1  180  2
 2  180  2

From Kinematics :

D1  D2   2C  D2  D1 
2
Lbelt( open) 
2 4C
 6

Cross Belt
 7

D1  D2
sin  
2C
1  D1  D2 
  Sin 
 2C 
1   2  180  2

From Kinematics :

D1  D2   2C  D2  D1 
2
Lbelt( cross) 
2 4C
 8

Belt Speed and Velocity Ratio of Belt Drive

(Neglecting Belt Slip)
N1 D2
  velocity ratio
N 2 D1
Slip of the Belt
• When the frictional grip between the belts and the pulleys
becomes insufficient, this may cause some forward motion of
the driver without carrying the belt with it. This is called slip of
the belt and is generally expressed as a percentage.

N 2 D1  s 
 1  
N1 D2  100 
 s 
N1 D1 1    N 2 D2
 100 
where : s  total percentage of slip
 9

Sample Problem 1a:

An engine running at 150 rpm drives a line shaft by means of a belt. The engine
pulley is 750 mm diameter and the pulley on the line shaft is 450 mm. A 900 mm
diameter pulley on the line shaft drives a 150 mm diameter pulley keyed to a
dynamo shaft. Find the speed of dynamo shaft neglecting belt slip.

N1 = 150 rpm ; D1 = 750 mm ; D2 = 450 mm ; D3 = 900 mm ; D4 = 150 mm

N 4 D1 D3 N 4 750900
    10
N1 D2 D4 150 450150
N 4  15010  1500 rpm
 10

Sample Problem 1b:

Solve sample prob. 1a, considering a slip of 2% for each drive.

N1 = 150 rpm ; D1 = 750 mm ;

D2 = 450 mm ; D3 = 900 mm ;
D4 = 150 mm; s=2%
N 4 D1 D3  s1  s2  s3  s4 
 1  1  1  1  
N1 D2 D4  100  100  100  100 
But, s  s1  s2  s3  s4
N 4 750900 
4 4
N 4 D1 D3  s  2 
 1     1  
N1 D2 D4  100  150 450150  100 
N 4  1383.6 rpm
 11

Tensions on Belts
(neglecting
centrifugal tension)
F1  tension at tight side
F2  tension at slack side
From M echanics :
F1
 e f ; f  coefficien t of friction between pulley and belt
F2
  angle of contact between pulley and belt in radians
If pulleys are made of different materials :
e f  e f1 or e f 2 , whichever is smaller
Otherwise : use e f1 or in general, use the 
of the smaller pulley.
 12

Torque on shaft supportingthe pulley :

T  Fr
 M 0  0
D D D
T  F1    F2    F1  F2  
2 2 2
F1  F2   net belt pull
The effective turning
(driving) force at the
circumference of the driven
pulley or follower
Bending Load on shaft supportingthe pulley :
FB  F1 cos   F2 cos  Power transmitted :
FB  F1  F2 cos P  T
P  F1  F2 v
 13

Sample Problem 2:
An open-belt drive transmitted 10 hp at 1500 fpm belt speed. The driver pulley
has a pitch diameter of 12 inches. The drive operates on 1.5:1 velocity ratio.
Center distance is 48 inches and the coefficient of friction between belt and
pulley is 0.35. Determine the following:
1. rpm of pulleys;
2. tensions at the belt
3. bending load on the shaft supporting the pulley
 14

N1 1.5 D2
a.  
N2 1 D1
N1
N2  ; D2  1.5 D1
1 .5
v1  D1 N1
 1 ft 
  12in 
ft
1500  N1
min  12in 
N1  477.46rpm
477.46
N2   318.3rpm
1.5
 15

b. F1 and F2
F1
from :  e f1 (belt tension ratio)
F2
f  f1  f 2  0.35
1  180  2
 D2  D1 
  Sin 1   ; D2  1.5 D1  1.512"  18"
 2C 
1 18  12 
  Sin    3.58
 248 
  
1  180  23.58   3.02rad
 180 
F1
 e 0.353.02 ; F1  2.88 F2  eq(1)
F2
 16

from : P  F1  F2 v
 
 ft  
10hp  F1  F2 1500
1hp
 
 min  33000 ft  lb 
 min 
F1  F2  220lbs  eq(2)
Substituting eq(1) into eq(2) :
2.88F2  F2  220
F2  117.02lbs (slack side tension)
F1  2.88117.02   337.02lbs (tight side tension)

c. Bending load on the shaft, FB

FB  F1  F2  cos 
FB  337.02  117.02 cos 3.58
FB  453.15 lbs.
 17

Centrifugal Tension
• Since the belt continuously runs over the pulleys, therefore,
some centrifugal force is caused, whose effect is to increase
the tension on both the tight as well as the slack sides.
• The tension caused by centrifugal force is called centrifugal
tension.
FC  mv 2

m  bt
where : m  mass of belt per unit length, kg , lb
m ft
v  linear vel ocity of belt, m , ft
s s
FC  centrifuga l tension, N,lb
b  width of the belt, m or mm, ft or in.
t  thickness of the belt, m or mm, ft or in.
  density of the belt, kg 3 , lb 3 or lb
m ft in 3
 18

Tensions on Belts Considering Centrifugal Tension:

FT1  total tension at tight side  F1  FC  max.tensio n in the belt

FT2  total tension at slack side  F2  FC
For power transmitted :
 
P  FT1  FT2 v  F1  FC   F2  FC v
P  F1  F2 v same as before 
For the ratio of driving tensions :
FT1  FC
e f

F1
 e f same as before 
FT2  FC F2
 19

Maximum Stress on the Belt

Let : S max  max .safe stress

b  width of the belt, and
t  thickness of the belt
A  cross sectional area of the belt
FT1 FT1 F1  FC
S max   
A bt bt
When centrifuga l tension is neglected :
F1 F1
S max  
A bt
 20

Sample Problem 3:
An oak-tanned leather belt 9 mm × 250 mm is used to drive a cast iron pulley 900
mm in diameter at 350 rpm. If the active arc on the smaller pulley is 120° and the
stress in tight side is 2 MPa, determine the power capacity of the belt
considering the effect of centrifugal tension. Density of leather belt may be taken
as 1000 kg/m3 and coefficient of friction between the belt and the pulley as 0.25.

Given :
t  9mm  0.009m; b  250mm  0.25m; D  900mm  0.9m
   N kg
N  350rpm;  120 ; S1  2 ;   1000 3 ; f  0.25
 180 
2
mm m
DN  0.9350 m
v   16.5
60 60 s
FC  mv 2 ; m  A  bt
 21

m  bt  0.250.009 1000   2.25

kg
m
2
 kg  m
FC   2.25 16.5   612.56 N
 m  s
 N 
FT1  S1 A   2 2 
250mm9mm  4500 N
 mm 
F1  FT1  FC  4500  612.56  3887.44 N
F1 f 3887.44
 e  F2  0.251 2 0   2302.86 N
F2 e 180

P  power capacity of belt  F1  F2 v

P  3887.44  2302.86 16.5  26145.6W  26.1kW
 22

V- BELT AND ROPE DRIVES

 23

• V-belt is mostly used 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.
• The V-belts are made of fabric and cords moulded in
rubber and covered with fabric and rubber as shown.
These belts are moulded to a trapezoidal shape and are
made endless.
 24

Ratio of Driving Tensions for V-belt

f
F1 f csc 
e  e sin 
F2
F1  tension at tight side
F2  tension at slack side
f  coefficien t of friction between the belt
and sides of the groove of the V - pulley
  angle of contact between V - pulley and belt in radians
  half of the groove angle in radians
 25

Sample Problem 1
Determine the number of V-belts required to transmit 30 kW power from
a smaller pulley with a pitch diameter of 225mm running at 1120rpm.
The larger pulley has a pitch diameter of 0.9m, while the center
distance between pulleys is limited to 875mm.
Each belt has a maximum working load of 560 N, mass per unit length
of 0.3 kg/m and coefficient of friction with the pulley of 0.15. The groove
angle of the pulleys is 34°.

Given :
P  30 kW ; D1  225mm  0.225m; N1  1120rpm; D2  0.9m;
C  875mm  0.875m; FT1  560 N ; m  0.3 kg ; f  0.15;
m
2  34;   17  0.29671
N 2 D1 0.225
  N 2  1120  280rpm
N1 D2 0.9
D1 N1  0.2251120 m
v   13.19
60 60 s
 26

2
kg  m
FC  mv  0.3 13.19   52.193 N
2

m s
FT1  F1  FC  F1  560  52.193  507.807 N
For an open belt connection :
 D2  D1  1  0.9  0.225 
  Sin 
1
  Sin    0.39598
 2C   20.875 
  1    20.39598  2.34963
F1 f csc  507.807
e  F2  0.152.34963csc0.29671  152.117 N
F2 e
Pper belt  F1  F2 v  507.807  152.117 13.19  4691.551W
30000 W
No. of belts   6.39  7
4691.551W
 27

Rope Drives
• The rope drives are widely used where a large amount of
power is to be transmitted, from one pulley to another, over a
considerable distance.
• Flat belt is limited for the transmission of moderate power from
one pulley to another when the two pulleys are not more than 8
metres apart.
• The rope drives use the following two types of ropes :
1. Fiber ropes
2. Wire ropes
• Fiber ropes are used for transmitting and are usually made
from fibrous materials such as hemp, manila (abaca plant
fibres) and cotton.
Ratio of Driving Tensions for Fibre Rope
• The fibre ropes are designed in the similar way as V-belts,
such that, F
1
 e f csc 
F2
 28

Sample Problem 2
• A fiber rope drive is required to transmit 750 kW from a pulley
of 1 m diameter running at 450 rpm. The safe pull in each rope
is 2250 N and the mass of the rope is 1 kg / m length. The
angle of lap and the groove angle is 150° and 45°, respectively.
Find the number of ropes required for the drive if the coefficient
of friction between the rope and the pulley is 0.3.

Given :
P  750 kW ; D  1m; N  450rpm; FT1  2250 N

m  1 kg ;   150  2.618rad ;
m
2  45;   22.5; f  0.3;
DN  1450 m
v   23.562
60 60 s
 29

2
 kg  m
FC  mv  1  23.562   555.168 N
2

 m  s
F1  FT1  FC  2250  555.168  1694.832 N
F1
 e f csc 
F2
1694.832
F2  0.3 2.618csc 22.5 
 217.672 N
e
P 750000
n, number of ropes  
Pper belt F1  F2 v
750000
n  21.55  22
1694.832  217.67223.562
 30

ROLLER CHAIN DRIVE

 31

• Roller chains are made up of number of rigid links which are

hinged together by pin joints in order to provide the necessary
flexibility for wraping round the driving and driven wheels.
• These wheels are toothed wheels known as sprocket wheels
or simply sprockets.
• The sprockets and the chain are thus constrained to move
together without slipping and ensures perfect velocity ratio.
32
 33

Terms Used in Chain Drive

1. Pitch of chain, p: the distance between the hinge centre of a link
and the corresponding hinge centre of the adjacent link
2. Pitch circle diameter of chain sprocket, D: the diameter of the
circle on which the hinge centers of the chain lie, when the chain is
wrapped around a sprocket.

The points A, B, C, and D are the hinge centers of the chain and the
circle drawn through these centers is called pitch circle.
 34

Relationship Between Pitch and Pitch Circle Diameter

  180  p
D  p csc  
  T  sin  180 
 T 
Velocity Ratio of Chain Drives

N1 T2
Velocity ratio  
N 2 T1
where : N1  rpm of smaller sprocket
N 2  rpm of larger sprocket
T1  no.of teeth of smaller sprocket
T2  no.of teeth of larger sprocket
πDN TpN
The average velocity of chain, v  
60 60
where : D  pitch circle dia. of sprocket
p  pitch of the chain
 35

Length of Chain and Center Distance

L  Kp;
where : L  length of chain
K  no. of chain links
T  T 2C  T2  T1   p 
2

K 1 2    
2 p  2   C 
K must be approximated to the nearest even no.

p  T1  T2  T1  T2   T2  T1  
2 2
  
C K   K    8 
4
  2   2   2  

 36

Standard Pitches for Roller Chains

• Roller chains are manufactured in standard pitches as shown in the
table below.
• In the chain number: the right-hand digit
5 indicates a rollerless bushing chain
1 indicates a lightweight chain
0 indicates a chain of usual proportion with roller.
• The number on the left is the number of 1/8 in. in the pitch

Chain 25 35 41 40 50 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 240

No.
Pitch 1 3 1 1 5 3 1
1 12 1 34 2 2 14 2 12 3
4 8 2 2 8 4 1 14