Theory of Machine

Flexible Machine Elements

Belts

05/03/2020 1
 Theory of Machine
Flexible Mechanical Elements
 Belts, ropes and chains are elastic or flexible machine elements
and are used for transmission of power over comparatively
long distances.
 These elements is often used as replacement for gears, shafts,
bearing and other relatively rigid power transmission devices.
 Use of the flexible elements often simplify the design and
substantially reduces cost.
 The flexible elements required inspection to guard against
wear, aging and loss of elasticity.
 Elements should be replaced at first sign of deteriorations

05/03/2020 2
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Introduction
The belts or ropes are used to transmit power from one shaft to another
shaft by means of pulleys which rotate at the same speed or at different
speeds

The amount of power transmitted depends upon

• The velocity of the belt
• Tension under which the belt is placed on pulleys
• The arc of contact between the belt and the smaller pulley
• The conditions under which the belt is used
05/03/2020 3
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Selection of Belt Drive

 Speed of Driving and Driven Shafts
 Speed Reduction Ratio
 Power to be Transmitted
 Centre Distance Between the Shafts
 Shafts Layout
 Space Available
 Service Conditions

05/03/2020 4
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Types of Belt Drives

1. Light Drives:
Transmit small power, Belt speed <= 10m/s
e.g. Agriculture machines, small machine tools

2. Medium Drives:
Transmit medium powers, 10 m/s < Belt Speed < 22 m/s
e.g. Machine tools

2. Heavy Drives:
Transmit heavy powers, Belt Speed > 22 m/s
e.g. Compressors and Generators
05/03/2020 5
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Types of Belt
a) Flat Belt
Use in factories and workshops
Use to transmit moderate power
Pulleys should not be more than 8 meters apart

Flat Belt

05/03/2020 6
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Types of Belt
b) V-Belt:
Use in factories and workshops
Use to transmit moderate amount of power
Pulleys near to each others

V-Belt

05/03/2020 7
 Design of Machine Elements-II
Flat Belt Drives

Types of Belt
c) Circular Belt or Rope:
Use in factories and workshops
Use to transmit great amount of power
Pulleys are more than 8 meters apart

Circular Belt

05/03/2020 8
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Material used for Belts

Belt material should be strong, flexible and durable and also should have high
coefficient of friction .

Leather Belts Cotton or fabric Belts

Rubber Belts Balata Belts

05/03/2020 9
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Coefficient of friction between belt and pulley

The Coefficient of friction between belt and pulley depends on
1. The material of belt
2. The material of pulley
3. The slip of the belt
4. The speed of belt (for efficient transmission of power the belt
speed should be from 20 m/s to 22.5 m/s.

05/03/2020 10
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Standard Belt Thicknesses and Widths

The Standard flat belt thicknesses are 5,6.5,8,10 and 12 mm.
Belt thickness (mm) Width Range (mm)
1 5 35-63
2 6.5 50-140
3 8 90-224
4 10 125-400
5 12 250-600

Standard widths are 25, 32, 40, 50, 63, 71, 80, 90, 100, 112, 125, 140, 180, 200, 224,
250, 280, 315, 355, 400, 450, 500, 560 and 600mm

05/03/2020 11
 Theory of Machine
V- Belt Rope Drives
V-Belts are used where great amount of power is to be transmitted from
one pulley to another pulleys and when the two pulleys are very near to
each other. V-Belt solve the problem of slippage and alignment

Made from Fabric and cords

moulded with rubber and
cover with fabric and rubber

To increase power output several belts may be operated side-by-side

Belt should be stretch at the same rate so that load is equally divided b/w
them
05/03/2020
05/03/2020 1212
05/03/2020
05/03/2020 1313
 V- Belt Rope Drives
Theory of Machine
Types of V-Belts
V-Belts have been Standardized by manufacturers with each section designated by a
alphabet for Size in inches and in mm. Minimum Sheave diameter and range of power
Transmitted for each section is provided

05/03/2020
05/03/2020 1414
Flat Belt Drives
Theory of Machine
Types of Flat Belt Drives
The power from one pulley to another pulley can be transmitted by
any of the following types of drives.

Open Belt Drives

Shafts arranged in parallel and rotating in
the same direction.
The driver pulley A, pulls the belt on one
side RQ and delivers it to other side LM.
RQ is Tight Side and LM is Slack Side.

05/03/2020 15
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Crossed or twist Belt Drive

Shafts arrange in parallel and rotate in opposite directions.
Tension in RQ will be more compare to LM.
RQ is known as Tight Side while LM is known as Slack Side.
At the crossing point the belt will rub against each other, to avoid this the shaft
should be placed at maximum distance of 20b, where b is the width of belt and
the speed should not be more than 15 m/s

05/03/2020 16
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Quarter turn belt drive

Also known as right angle belt drive and is used with shafts arranged at right
angles and rotating in one definite direction.

05/03/2020 17
 Design of Machine Elements-II
Flat Belt Drives

Belt Drive with idler pulleys

Idler pulley is used with shafts arrange in parallel and when an open belt drive
can not be used due to small angle of contact on smaller pulley.
Used to obtain high velocity ratio and to obtain higher tension.
When desire to transfer motion from one shaft to several shafts arranged in
parallel, a belt drive with many idler pulleys can be employed.

05/03/2020 18
 Design of Machine Elements-II
Flat Belt Drives

Compound Belt Drive

Is used when power is transmitted from one shaft to another through a
number of pulleys

05/03/2020 19
 Flat Belt Drives
Theory of Machine
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:

When the thickness of belt (t) is consider

For compound Belt Drive

05/03/2020 20
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Slip of the Belt

If the frictional grip b/w the pulley and belt is insufficient then there is forward
motion of driver without carrying the belt with it. This is called Slip of the Belt
and is expressed as percentage.
The result of belt slipping is to reduce the velocity ratio of the system.

When the thickness of belt (t) is consider

05/03/2020 21
Flat Belt Drives
Theory of Machine

05/03/2020 22
Flat Belt Drives
Theory of Machine

05/03/2020 23
 Theory of Machine
Flat Belt Drives

Length of an Open Belt Drive

In open belt drive both the pulleys rotate in the same direction.

Driven/Follower
Driver

05/03/2020 24
Flat Belt Drives
Theory of Machine
Length of an Open Belt Drive
In open belt drive both the pulleys rotate in the same direction.

In Terms of
pulleys Radii

In Terms of pulleys
Diameter

05/03/2020 25
 Design of Machine Elements-II
Flat Belt Drives
Length of a Cross Belt Drive
In cross belt drive both the pulleys rotate in the opposite direction.

In Terms of
In Terms of pulleys
pulleys Radii Diameter

L
05/03/2020 26
 Open belt

Crossed belt

05/03/2020 27
Flat Belt Drives
Theory of Machine
Power Transmitted by the Belt

Effective turning force

at the circumference of
driven pulley
(T1 – T2)

Torque exerted on
Driving pulley
(T1 – T2) r1
Torque exerted on
Driven pulley
(T1 – T2) r2

05/03/2020 28
Flat Belt Drives
Theory of Machine
Ratio of Driving Tensions for Flat Belt

This expression gives relation between tight and slack side tensions, in terms of
coefficient of friction and anlge of contact. This equation can be expressed in
terms of corresponding logarithm to the base 10

05/03/2020 29
Flat Belt Drives
Theory of Machine

05/03/2020 30
Flat Belt Drives
Theory of Machine

05/03/2020 31
Flat Belt Drives
Theory of Machine

05/03/2020 32
 Theory of Machine

Flexible Machine Elements

Ropes

05/03/2020 33
Rope Drives
Rope drives are used where large amount of power is to be transmitted,
from one pulley to another, over a considerable distance.

1.Fiber Rope
1. Hemp, Manila and Cotton
2. Pulley Distance upto 60 meter

2.Wire Rope
1. Wrought iron, cast steel, extra strong
cast steel, plough steel and alloy
steel
2. Pulleys upto 150 m apart

05/03/2020
05/03/2020 3434
Advantages of Fiber Rope
Rope drives are used where large amount of power is to be transmitted,
from one pulley to another, over a considerable distance.

05/03/2020
05/03/2020 3535
Construction of Wire Rope
Wire ropes are made from various grade of steel wire having tensile
ranging from 1200 to 2400 Mpa.

Core may be made of

7, 19 or 37 wires 6 or 8 strands are hemp, soft steel, jude
are twisted in to twisted about a or asbestos
strand core or center

05/03/2020
05/03/2020 3636
Designation of Wire
Rope
Wire ropes are designated by number of strands and number of
wires in each strand. e.g. 6 X 7 means six strands and 7 wires in
each stand

05/03/2020
05/03/2020 3737
Chain Drives
• In belt and rope drives slipping may occur
• In order to avoid slipping, steel chains are used
• The chains are made up of rigid links which are hinged together in order
to provide the necessary flexibility for warping around the driving and
driven wheels
• The wheels and the chain are thus constrained to move together without
slipping and ensures perfect velocity ratio. The toothed wheels are
known as sprocket wheels or simply sprockets
• The chains are mostly used to transmit motion and power from one shaft
to another, when the distance between the centres of the shafts is short
such as in bicycles, motor cycles, agricultural machinery, road rollers,
etc.

05/03/2020 38
 Advantages
1. As no slip takes place during chain drive, hence perfect velocity ratio is
obtained.
2. Since the chains are made of metal, therefore they occupy less space in
width than a belt
or rope drive.
3. The chain drives may be used when the distance between the shafts is
less.
4. The chain drive gives a high transmission efficiency (upto 98 per cent).
5. The chain drive gives less load on the shafts.
6. The chain drive has the ability of transmitting motion to several shafts by
one chain only.
Disadvantages
1. The production cost of chains is relatively high.
2. The chain drive needs accurate mounting and careful maintenance.
3. The chain drive has velocity fluctuations especially when unduly
stretched.

05/03/2020 39
 Classification of Chains
The chains, on the basis of their use, are classified into the
following three groups :
1. Hoisting and hauling (or crane) chains,
2. Conveyor (or tractive) chains, and
3. Power transmitting (or driving) chains.

05/03/2020 40