V-belts and Ropes

ME 571P
Machine Design II

1
• 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.

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• These are particularly suitable for short drives.
• The included angle for the V-belt is usually from 30° to 40°.
• Usually the groove angles of 32° to 38° are used.
• The power is transmitted by the wedging action between the belt
and the V-groove in the pulley or sheave.
• A clearance must be provided at the bottom of the groove in order
to prevent touching of the bottom as it becomes narrower from
wear.
• In order to increase the power output, several V-belts may be
operated side by side. It may be noted that in multiple V-belt drive,
all the belts should stretch at the same rate so that the load is
equally divided between them.
• When one of the set of belts break, the entire set should be
replaced at the same time.
• If only one belt is replaced, the new unworn and unstretched belt
will be more tightly stretched and will move with different velocity.

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 Standard Pitch Lengths of V-belts
• V-belts are designated by its type and nominal inside
length.
• A V-belt of type A and inside length 610 mm is
designated as A 610.
• The standard inside lengths of V-belts in mm are as
follows :
• 610, 660, 711, 787, 813, 889, 914, 965, 991, 1016,
1067, 1092, 1168, 1219, 1295, 1372, 1397, 1422, 1473,
1524, 1600, 1626, 1651, 1727, 1778, 1905, 1981, 2032,
2057, 2159, 2286, 2438, 2464, 2540, 2667, 2845, 3048,
3150, 3251, 3404, 3658, 4013, 4115, 4394, 4572, 4953,
5334, 6045, 6807, 7569, 8331, 9093, 9885, 10 617, 12
141, 13 665, 15 189, 16 713
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• Pitch length is defined as the circumferential
length of the belt at the pitch width (i.e. the
width at the neutral axis) of the belt.
• The value of the pitch width remains constant for
each type of belt irrespective of the groove angle.
• The pitch lengths are obtained by adding to inside
length:
 36 mm for type A,
 43 mm for type B,
 56 mm for type C,
 79 mm for type D, and
 92 mm for type E.

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For English Units, refer to Table 17.3, p.458 of the book by Faires, for
standard V-belt lengths.
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 Advantages and Disadvantages of
V-belt Drive over Flat Belt Drive
Advantages
1. The V-belt drive gives compactness due to the small distance between
centers of pulleys.
2. The drive is positive, because the slip between the belt and the pulley
groove is negligible.
3. Since the V-belts are made endless and there is no joint trouble, therefore
the drive is smooth.
4. It provides longer life, 3 to 5 years.
5. It can be easily installed and removed.
6. The operation of the belt and pulley is quiet.
7. The belts have the ability to cushion the shock when machines are started.
8. The high velocity ratio (maximum 10) may be obtained.
9. The wedging action of the belt in the groove gives high value of limiting
ratio of tensions. Therefore the power transmitted by V-belts is more than flat
belts for the same coefficient of friction, arc of contact and allowable tension
in the belts.
10. The V-belt may be operated in either direction, with tight side of the belt
at the top or bottom. The centre line may be horizontal, vertical or inclined.

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Disadvantages
1. The V-belt drive can not be used with large center
distances, because of larger weight per unit length.
2. The V-belts are not so durable as flat belts.
3. The construction of pulleys for V-belts is more complicated
than pulleys of flat belts.
4. Since the V-belts are subjected to certain amount of creep,
therefore these are not suitable for constant speed
applications such as synchronous machines and timing
devices.
5. The belt life is greatly influenced with temperature
changes, improper belt tension and mismatching of belt
lengths.
6. The centrifugal tension prevents the use of V-belts at
speeds below 5 m/ s and above 50 m / s.

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 Ratio of Driving Tensions for V-belt

F1
 e f csc 
F2
F1  tension at tight side
F2  tension at slack side
f  coefficient 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

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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

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 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
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Sample Problem 2
The center distance between grooved pulleys of the same size for a
belt drive consisting of two V-belts in parallel is approximately 800mm.
The angle of the groove is 30°. The cross-sectional area of each belt is
750 mm2 and f=0.12. The density of the belt material is 1.2 Mg / m3
and the maximum safe stress in the material is 7 MPa. Calculate the
power that can be transmitted between pulleys of 300 mm diameter
rotating at 1500 rpm for an overload factor of 1.3. Recommend the
type of v-belt and the standard inside length for the belt. Find also the
speed of the drive shaft in rpm at which the power transmitted would
be a maximum.
If the driven pulley is overhung to the extent of 400 mm from the
nearest bearing and is mounted on a shaft, determine the torque and
the maximum bending moment on the shaft.

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Given : C  800mm  0.8m; n  2; 2   30;   15; A belt  750mm 2 ;
f  0.12;  belt  1.2 Mg 3  1200 kg 3 ; S1  7 N ;
m m mm 2
D  D1  D2  300mm  0.3m;
N  N1  N 2  1500rpm; overload factor  1.3
DN  0.31500  m
v   23.562
60 60 s
m  Abelt  belt 
7501200  0.9 kg
10002 m
FC  mv 2  0.923.562   499.651N
2

FT1  S1 Abelt  7
N
mm 2

750mm 2  5250 N 
F1  FT1  FC  5250  499.651  4750.349 N
F1
 e f csc  :   180   ;
F2
  
  15   0.2618rad
 180 
4750.349
F2  0.12 csc 0.2618   1106.984 N
e 15
 P  overload factor F1  F2 v n 
1.34750.349  1106.984 23.562 2 
P  223.2kW
1000
FT1
For max.power, FC 
3
FT1 5250 m
mv1 
2
 v1   44.1
3 30.9  s
DN  0.3N1
v  44.1 
60 60
N1  2807.5rpm  the shaft/pulley should rotate at this rpm
in order to maximize power transmission.

From Table, at P  223.2kW , type E v - belt is recommended.


T  overload factor n  FT1  FT2  D2
FT1 
 FT2  F1  FC   F2  FC   F1  F2
 0 .3 
T  1.32 4750.349  1106.984    1420.912 N  m  1.421 kN  m
 2 
M  FB length of overhang n overload factor 
 
FB  FT1  FT2 cos  ; but pulleys are of same size.
Thus,   0 or cos  1
FB  F1  FC  F2  FC   F1  F2  2 FC
M  4750.349  1106.984  2499.6510.4 2 1.3  7130.9 N  m  7.131kN  m

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 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

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• The ropes for transmitting power are usually made
from fibrous materials such as hemp, manila (abaca
plant fibres) and cotton.
• Since the hemp and manila fibres are rough, therefore
the ropes made from these fibres are not very flexible
and possesses poor mechanical properties.
• The hemp ropes have less strength as compared to
manila ropes.
• The cotton ropes are very soft and smooth.
• It may be noted that the manila ropes are more
durable and stronger than cotton ropes.
• The cotton ropes are costlier than manila ropes.

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• The diameter of manila and cotton ropes usually
ranges from 38 mm to 50 mm. The size of the
rope is usually designated by its circumference or
‘girth’.
• The ultimate tensile breaking load of the fibre
ropes varies greatly.
• For manila ropes, the average value of the
ultimate tensile breaking load may be taken as
500 d2 kN;
• For cotton ropes, it may be taken as 350 d2 kN,
where d is the diameter of rope in mm.

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Advantages of Fibre Rope Drives
1. They give smooth, steady and quiet service.
2. They are little affected by out door
conditions.
3. The shafts may be out of strict alignment.
4. The power may be taken off in any direction
and in fractional parts of the whole amount.
5. They give high mechanical efficiency.

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Sheave for Fiber Ropes
• The fiber ropes are usually circular
in cross-section.
• The groove angle of the pulley or
sheave for rope drives is usually
45°.
• The grooves in the pulleys are
made narrow at the bottom and
the rope is pinched between the
edges of the V-groove to increase
the holding power of the rope on
the pulley.
• The diameter of the sheaves
should be large to reduce the wear
on the rope due to internal friction
and bending stresses.
• The proper size of sheave wheels is
40 d and the minimum size is 36 d,
where d is the diameter of rope in
cm.
• The number of grooves should not
be more than 24.
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Ratio of Driving Tensions for Fibre Rope
• The fibre ropes are designed in the similar way
as V-belts, such that,

F1 f csc 
e
F2

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Sample Problem3
• 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. [Ans. 22]
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
2
 kg  m
FC  mv 2  1  23.562   555.168 N
 m  s
F1  FT1  FC  2250  555.168  1694.832 N

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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

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