Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

Belt, rope and Chain drives

 Belt drives, rope drives, chain drives and gear

drives are power transmission devices.
 Power from one shaft to another can be
transmitted by means of belt, ropes, chains,
gears etc.
 Belt drives are used when the distance
between the shafts do not exceed more than
8m.
 Flat belt drive has basically three components
namely driving pulley, flat belt and the driven
pulley.
Question: State advantages and limitations of belt drive.
Advantages:
1. Belt drives are used to transmit power from one shaft to another when the distance between the
shaft is large as compared to gear drives where the power can be transmitted between shafts at
small distance apart.
2. The weight of belts is less as compared to chain drives and gear drives.
3. There is no need of lubrication in belt drives while lubrication is needed in gear drives and chain
drives.
4. Repair and maintenance in belt drives is very less as compared to gear drives and chain drives.
5. Manufacturing cost of belt drives is less as compared to gear and chain drives.
Disadvantages:
1. Belt drive is a non-positive drive i.e. slip and creep phenomenon occurs in belt drive.
2. Space required is more.
3. Velocity ratio is not constant due to slip and creep phenomenon.
4. Belts extend after frequent use.

Question: Compare Belt, Rope, Chain and Gear drives.

Belt drives Rope drives Chain drives Gear drives
Whether slip Slip occurs Slip occurs No slip No slip
occurs or not
Space required More More Compact. i.e. less Less space
space required required.
Weight Less less More More
Velocity ratio Not constant Not constant Constant Constant
Lubrication Not required Not required Required Required
Distance Upto 8 meter More than 8 metres 1 to 1.5 meter length Less distance. If
between shafts distance of distance . the distance is
more gear train
used.
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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

Question: Enlist types of belt drives. Draw neat sketches of belt drives and explain them. OR
Draw neat sketches of Flat Belt drives
1. Light, medium and heavy drives:
2. Flat belt drives, V-belt drives and Circular belt drives
3. Open belt drive and crossed belt drive
4. Compound belt drive
5. Quarter turn belt drive and Quarter turn belt drive with guide pulley.
6. Belt drive with idler pulleys
7. Stepped or cone pulley drive
8. Fast and loose pulley drive
1. Light, medium and Heavy drives: Light drives transmit small powers at belt speeds upto 10 m/s like
in agricultural machines and small machine tools. Medium drives are used to transmit medium power
at belt speeds over 10m/s and upto 22 m/s in machine tools. Heavy drives are used to transmit
power above 22m/s like in compressors and generators.
2. Flat belts, V-belts and circular belt drives:
Flat belt drives are used where moderate amount of
power is transmitted between two pulleys which
are not more than 8 metres apart. V belt drives are
used to transmit moderate amount of power
between two pulleys which are very near to each
other. Circular belt drives or Rope drives are used to
transmit large amount of power between two
pulleys which are more than 8 metres apart.
3. Open belt drive and Crossed/twist belt drive
Open belt drive is used with
shafts arranged in parallel and
rotates in same direction.
Crossed belt drive is used with
shafts rotating in opposite
direction. Tension in lower
side of belt is more so it is called
as tight side of belt.
4. Compound belt drive

Compound belt drive is used when power is transmitted from one

shaft to another through number of pulleys.

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

5. Quarter turn belt drive and Quarter turn belt drive with guide pulley.
It is also known as right angle belt
drive and is used to transmit power
between shafts which are not
arranged in parallel but between
shafts at right angle with each
other.

6. Belt drive with idler pulleys

This type of belt drive is to obtain high velocity ratio and when required belt tension cannot be
obtained with required means.

7. Stepped or cone pulley drive

This type of belt drive is used for changing the speed of follower (driven)
shaft while the driving shaft rotating at constant speed. This is done by
shifting the belt from one step to another step as shown in figure.

8. Fast and loose pulley drive

It is used when driven/follower shaft is to be
started or stopped whenever desired without
interfering driving shaft. Pulley keyed to
machine shaft is fast pulley and runs at the same
speed as that of machine shaft. Loose pulley
runs freely over machine shaft and is incapable
of transmitting any power . When machine shaft
is to be stopped, belt is pushed on the loose

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15
pulley so that machine shaft stops but driving shaft keeps rotating.
Velocity Ratio:
Question: Define Velocity Ratio. Derive an expression to find velocity ratio of open belt drive (i)
considering thickness, and (ii) Neglecting thickness.

Velocity ratio of compound Belt drive

Question: Derive an expression to find velocity ratio of compound

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

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Theory
 of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

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SLIP in belt:
Question: What is slip of the belt? State the expression for phenomenon of slip.
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 During power transmission, driver pulley rotates which carries belt with it.
 Motion of belt and pulley is due to firm frictional grip between belt and pulley but
sometimes frictional grip becomes insufficient.
 This causes:
(a) Forward motion of driver pulley without carrying belt with
it, (b) Forward motion of belt without carrying driven pulley
with it.
 This is called slip of belt and is expressed in percentage.
 The slip of belt reduces velocity ratio.
Let N1 and N2 = rpm of driver and driven pulleys respectively, t = thickness of
belt d1 = dia of driver pulley and d2 = dia of driven pulley,
s1 = percentage slip of driving pulley
s2 = percentage slip of driven pulley and belt
s = s1 + s2, s = total percentage slip between driving and driven pulleys

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

Creep of belt:
Question: What is creep of the belt and their expression?
 When part of belt moves from driven pulley to driving pulley is known as tight side of belt having
tension T1.
 When part of belt moves from driving pulley to driven pulley is known as slack side of belt having
tension T2.
 Both the tensions are different in magnitude i.e. Tension on tight side T1 > Tension on slack side T2.
 The material of belt is elastic and so it elongates on tight side than slack side and this causes unequal
stretching on both sides of the drive.
 When belt passes from slack side to tight side, certain portion of belt extends and then it contracts
again when belt passes from tight side to slack side.
 Due to this change in length of belt, the relative motion between the belt and the pulley surface. This
relative motion is called creep.
 Effect of creep is to reduce the velocity ratio.

Length of Open (Flat) Belt drive:

Question: Derive an expression to
find the length of open belt drive.
r1 = radii of larger pulley,
r2 = radii of smaller pulley,
x = distance between centres of two
pulleys i.e. O1 and O2.
L = Total length of belt.
Let, belt leave larger pulley at E and
G,

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15
Let, belt leave smaller pulley at F and H
Through O2, draw O2M parallel to FE.
Therefore, now O2M will be perpendicular to O1E.

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

Ratio of Driving tensions for flat belt drive:

Question: Derive an expression T1/T2 = eµθ for flat belt drive with usual notations.
Question: Derive an expression to determine ratio of tension on tight side to the tension on slack
side for flat belt

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

Centrifugal Tension:
Question: Define Centrifugal Tension. Explain the effect of centrifugal tension in belt drive.
Question: Derive an expression to find centrifugal tension in belt drive.
Since the belt continuously run over the pulleys therefore some
centrifugal force is produced whose effect is to increase the tension
in both side (tight side and slack side). The tension caused by
centrifugal force is called as centrifugal tension. At belt speeds less
than 10 m/s, the centrifugal tension is very less but at higher belt
speeds effect of centrifugal tension is more and should be taken
into consideration.
Consider a small portion PQ of the belt subtending an angle dθ at
the center of the pulley as shown in figure,
Let m = mass of belt per unit length in kg,
v – linear velocity of belt in m/s,
r = radius (metres) of pulley over which belt runs,
Tc = Centrifugal tension acting tangentially at P and Q in

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15
newtons,

Power Transmitted:

Maximum Power Transmitted:

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

Initial Tension:
Question: Define Initial Tension in belt. State the expression of initial tension in belt. State the
methods to increase initial tension.

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Theory of machines _ Lecture Notes Belt, Rope and Chain drives April 14-04-15

Rope Drives:

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