Chapter 17

Belts, Chains, and

Wire Rope
Shigley: Budynas & Nisbett

Belts, Chains, Wire Rope

Allow power transmission over a distance
Simplify design
Reduce cost
Help in isolating ____________________
_______________________________
and should be replaced at the first sign of
deterioration

Belt Naming Convention

Named according to their cross sections
Flat belts -- _______________ pulleys
Round and V belts -- grooved pulleys
also

called ______________

Timing belts -- _____________________

Belt Configurations
Open belt drive
Reversing drives, including crossed belt
Quarter-twist belt drive

Figure 17-2

Belt Speed vs. Diameter

Slip and creep of non-toothed belts

Ideal

angular velocity ratio IS inversely

proportional to diameter ratio just like gears
In practice, angular velocity ratio is
____________________________________
to diameter ratio, and the ratio is
_________________

Flat and Round Belt Efficiency

Flat-belt drive is about ________ efficient

same

as gears

V-belt drive is ___________ efficient

Contact Angles & Belt Length

Fig 17-1,

Contact Angles & Belt Length

Fig 17-1

Initial Belt Tension

Without initial belt tension,
_______________________________
The belt will slip
Tension must be
_________________
Sustained
In the proper amount
Maintained by routine inspection

Belt Forces & Torques

tight side

slack side

Belting Equations
Eq. 17-7

Eq. 17-9

Eq. e, p.865

belting equation

initial tension

tension due to
centrifugal force
m=mass per unit length
w = weight per unit length
V = belt speed in ft/min

Belt Selection

b : belt width
Fa: Manufacturers provide allowable
tension (force/width)
Cp: pulley correction factor, corrects for
flexing at the pulley
Cv: corrects for velocity > 600 ft/min

Belt Power

Hd: design horsepower

Hnom: nominal horsepower
Ks : service factor (Table 17-15)
nd: design/safety factor

Analyzing a Flat-Belt Drive

1.

Find ef from belt-drive geometry and beltfriction

2.

Find Fc from belt geometry and speed

3.

Find T

4.

Find (F1)a F2= F1,allowed F2

5.

Find (F1)a = F1,allowed from Eq. 17-12

Analyzing a Flat-Belt Drive, cont.

7.

Find F2
Be sure required friction value f is less
than value started with, f

8.

Find nfs =

6.

Belt data
Belt materials: Table 17-2
Minimum pulley sizes: Tables 17-2 and
17-3
Cp = 1 for urethane belts; otherwise use
Table 17-4

Problem #17-1

A 6 inch wide polyamide flat belt is used to

connect a 2 inch diameter pulley to drive a larger
pulley with an angular velocity ratio of 0.5.
The center-to-center distance is 9.0 feet.
Angular velocity of smaller pulley is 1750 RPM
at a power level of 2.0 hp.
Service factor of Ks=1.25
Find
forces Fc, Fi, F1a, F2
Ha, nfs, and belt length

Crowning

Flat-belt pulleys should be crowned to

keep belts on pulley
at

least crown the largest pulley

Both pulleys must be crowned if the

system is not in a horizontal position.
Table 17-5, Crown Height

V Belts Standard Sections

Table 17-9

V Belts Std Inside Circumference

Table 17-10

V Belts Pitch Length (Table 17-11)

Belt Section
A
B
C
D
E

Pitch Length
Inside Circumference + 1.3in
Inside Circumference + 1.8in
Inside Circumference + 2.9in
Inside Circumference + 3.3in
Inside Circumference + 4.5in

V Belts Pitch Length and

Center-to-Center Distance

Lp = pitch length

C = center-to-center distance

2
C = L p (D + d ) + L p (D + d ) 2(D d )
4
2
2

V Belts

Velocity calculations are based on pitch

diameters
even

if not explicitly stated!

Should run between V=_______ ft/min and

V=_________ ft/min
Groove angle in sheave is smaller than
40 degrees

causes

V-belt to wedge into sheave

exact angle depends on belt section, sheave
diameter, angle of contact

V-Belt Rating
Power rating for standard V-Belts in
Table 17-12
For a given sheave speed, life of a short
belt is _______________ of a long belt
Adjust table power rating Htab by Eq. 17-17

= allowable power per belt

K1 = angle of wrap correction, Table 17-13
K2 = belt length correction, Table 17-14
Ha

Problem #17-18
Two B85 belts are used in a drive
composed of a 5.4 inch driving sheave
rotating at 1200 RPM and a 16 inch driven
sheave
Service factor of Ks=1.25
Find

center-to-center

distance
power capacity of the drive

Timing Belts
Rubberized fabric with a steel wire located
at the belt pitch line
Pulley pitch diameter lies outside of the
tops of the teeth
Timing belts do not stretch or slip, so they
transmit power at a constant angular
velocity ratio

Timing Belts, cont.

No initial tension is needed
Operate a wide range of speeds
__________% efficient
No lubrication
_____________ than chain drives
Design and selection process for timing
belts is similar to V-belts