A pump is driven by an electric motor through a open type flat belt drive.

Determine the
belt specifications for the following data.
Motor pulley diameter(d ) = 300 mm, Pump pulley diameter(d ) = 600 mm
S L
Coefficient of friction (μ ) for motor pulley = 0.25
S
Coefficient of friction (μ ) for pump pulley = 0.20
L
Center distance between the pulleys=1000 mm; Rotational speed of the motor=1440
rpm;
3
Power transmission = 20kW; density of belt material (ρ)= 1000 kg/m ; allowable stress
for the belt material (σ) = 2 MPa; thickness of the belt = 5mm.
Solution
()()()()10Ls0L0S2oLSLS2Determinationofangleofwrapddsin()8.632C1802197.253.44rad1802162.752.
84radLength of open belt1Ldd2Cdd24C1=6003002000600300=3436mm24000βαβαβππ−
−===+== =−== =+++− +++−

3001440v22.62m/s601000b5mbt100.005kg/m1010mv2.56bNNow,0.252.840.710.203.4
3332ssLL0.68812

40.688largerpulleygovernsthedesignT2.56be1.99.........................T2.56bπρμαμα××== ×==××==×
=×==×=∴
−==−12121(1)powerequationP(TT)vputtingdata,(TT)884.17N................................(2)again,T2b5N1
0bN(frompermissiblestress)................(3)From =−×∴ −= =×× =
(1),(2)and(3),solvingforb,b240mmHence,therequiredbeltdimensionsare,Length3436mm;breadth2
40mmandthickness5mm ≈ = =

Q2. Why the slack side of the belt of a horizontal belt drive is preferable to place on the top
side?
A2. The slack side of the belt is preferably placed on the top side because, the slack side of
the belt, due to its self weight, will sag. For this reason the angle of contact between the
belt and the pulleys will increase. However, the tight side will not sag to that extent.
Hence, the net effect will be an increase in the angle of contact or angle of wrap. Thus,
due to the increase in angle of contact, the power transmission capacity of the drive
system will increase.
Q3. Which one should be the governing pulley to calculate tension ratio?
A3. The pulley, driven or driver, for which the product, μα of equation for belt tension is the
least, should be considered to determine the tension ratio.

Design a flat belt drive for the following data:

Drive: AC motor, operating speed is 1440 rpm and operates for over 10 hours. The equipment driven is a compressor, which runs at 900 rpm and the required

power transmission is 20 kW.

Solution

Let us consider the belt speed to be 20 m/s, which is within the recommended range.

The given speed ratio = 1440/900 =1.6

Let the belt material be leather, which is quite common.

Now,
Version 2 ME , IIT Kharagpur

sSLd144020601000d265.3mmd1.6265.3424.5mmπ×× =×∴ = ∴ =×=

From the standard sizes available, dS=280 mm and dL= 450 mm.

Recalculated speed ratio.

LSd4501.6071.61d280==≈

Therefore, the choice of both the pulley diameters is acceptable.

LLCenterdistance,C2(dd)C1460mmHence,letC1500mm(itisassumedthatspaceisavailable) > +∴ > ≈

Considering an open belt drive, the belt length,

()()()()2oLSLS21Ldd2Cdd24C1=45028030004502804151mm26000π=+++−π +++−≈

As a guideline, to take into consideration the initial tension, the belt length is shortened by 1%.
Hence, the required belt length,

LO = 4110 mm.

For the leather belt, the co-efficient of friction, μ may be taken as 0.4.

In this design, both the pulley materials are assumed to be the same, hence, angle of wrap for the
smaller pulley being lower, smaller pulley governs the design and the angle of wrap is 3.03 radian.
10Ls0L0SDeterminationofangleofwrapddsin()3.252C1802186.53.26rad1802173.53.03rad−
−β==α=+β== α=−β==

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dessevDesignpower,Pservicefactor(C)requiredpower(P)1.320kW26kW

The value 1.3 is selected from design data book for the given service condition.

For the design stress in the belt, maxSPDWCC′σ=

However, design stress, , ′σfor leather belt may be considered as 2 MPa. Similarly, density of leather
belt is 1000 kg/m3.

Let us choose standard belt thickness, t =6.5 mm

Therefore standard belt width, b = 180mm

A leather belt of 6.5 mm thickness, 180 mm width and 4110 mm length will satisfy the design
conditions.

Questions and answers

Q1. Name some of the common flat belt materials.

A1. Leather, rubber, plastics and fabrics are some of the common flat belt materials.
Q2. What is the correction factors used to modify belt maximum stress?

A2. Correction factor for speed and angle of wrap are used to modify the belt maximum stress. This
correction is required because stress value is given for a specified drive speed and angle of wrap of
1800. Therefore, when a drive has different speed than the specified and angle of wrap is also
different from 1800 , then above mentioned corrections are required.

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Q3. What is the recommended center distance and belt speed for a flat belt drive?

A3. The recommendations are; the center distance should be greater than twice the sum of pulley
diameters and the belt speed range should be within 15-25 m/s.