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Objectives
At the end of this section you should be able to:
1. Describe the various types of belt drive
2. Select a suitable wedge belt for a given power
transmission
3. Select suitable pulleys and determine the speed of
the driven shaft
4. Determine the centre distance between the pulleys
and pitch length of the belt
Belt drives are widely used for transmitting rotational mechanical power from one
rotating shaft to another. They are light, inexpensive, quiet and capable of transmitting
reasonably large amounts of power. There are several manufacturers/distributors of
belt drives in Australia. The data in the manual was taken from theFenner Catalogue.
Belt drive pulleys can be plain bushed or taper bushed for use with taper-lock bushes.
All the pulleys supplied by Fenner are of taper-lock bush type. The advantage of the
taper-lock bush is that no key is required, it is easy to install and does not weaken the
shaft (does not cause as much stress concentration) as a keyed bush.
There are many types of belt drive but for the purposes of this module you need only
to be able to select the wedge belt type. These are a type of vee belt that have largely
superseded the older type of vee belt. They have a deeper profile and are capable of
transmitting more torque and power than the older type.. The two types are
interchangeable on the pulleys, so even if a vee belt was originally in place, it can be
replaced by a wedge belt if necessary without changing the pulleys.
The power that can be transmitted by a wedge belt drive depends upon a number of
factors, namely:
The angle of contact
The greater this is, the more torque and power can be transmitted. If both pulleys are
not of the same diameter, then the smaller pulley is the one that determines the
maximum torque and power that can be transmitted. Not only does the smaller pulley
have a shorter length of contact, but it also has a smaller angle of contact than the
larger pulley, so it will always be the first to slip. In cases where the pulleys are not
the same diameter, the angle of contact will depend also upon the centre distance
between the shafts. The greater the centre distance, the greater the angle of contact.
For this reason, centre distances should not be below the recommended minimum
value (sum of the pulley pitch diameters) unless there are special circumstances.
initially installed.
As the belt wears, the initial tension needs to be re-set, so the designer should allow
for an adjustment method. Adjustment can be provided by moving one shaft further
away from the other or by means of an adjustable jockey pulley. This pulley should be
located on the inside of the drive on the slack side as close as possible to the larger
pulley and should have a diameter at least equal to the smaller pulley.
The size of the belt.
The larger the belt section, the greater the tension that can be carried by the belt and
the greater the torque and power. In the Data Manual, four sizes of wedge belt are
given, namely: SPZ, SPA, SPB, and SPC. These are listed in increasing size, with the
SPZ being the smallest and the SPC being the largest.
The number of belts.
Belt drives with a single belt are the most common but belt drives are often used with
2 to 6 belts in parallel on multi-grooved pulleys. In the larger sizes up to 8 belts may
be used. Clearly, the torque and power increase in direct proportion to the number of
belts.
Study guide
http://www.fennerdrives.com/assets/Opm_V_belts.pdf
http://www.fptgroup.com/downloads/friction_wedgebeltdrive
s.pdf
1. Types of Belt Drives: Read the Preamble on page 50 of the Data Manual.
Recognise the various types of belt drives available.
2. Minimum Diameter: Look at Table 1 on page 56. This gives you the minimum
pulley diameter for a given power and faster-shaft speed.
3. Service Factors. Look at Table 3 on page 56. This gives you a service factor
which takes into account shock loading and the hours per day of operation. You will
encounter a similar factor in the selection of many other mechanical power
transmission components. Note that in most cases, the drive is a speed-reducing one.
If the drive is speed-increasing one, then an additional service factor should be applied
(as shown in this table).
4. Power/Speed Graph: Look at the graph on page 57. This shows you where each
size of belt can be used according to the power and speed. You may like to use
coloured pencil or highlighter pen to shade the various lines to make this graph easier
to use.
5. Correction Factors: Given on page 58 and the power ratings given on pages 59
to 64.
6. Pulley Dimensions: Given on pages 65 to 72. These are all for use with taperlock bushes. Taper-lock bush details are given on page 73.
7. Read the selection method given in pages 50 to 52. It is not necessary that you
work through this in detail at this stage because it won't mean much to you until you
try and work through a problem on belt selection.
8.
Study the Worked Example on page 54 in conjunction with the selection method.
9.
Choose a suitable belt and record belt actual belt length and identification number.
7. Calculate the accurate centre distance (CA) based on the belt selected.
8. Determine the basic power per belt for 'A', 'B' and 'C' section belts
respectively.
Each page has the basic power per belt table on the left hand side and a table on the
right hand side for calculating additional power which depends on the belt speed ratio.
(a) Record basic (rated) power per belt from left hand table.
(b) Record approximate belt speed from left hand table
(c) Record additional power per belt from right hand table.
Power/belt = Basic power/belt + Additional power/belt
9. Determine the Arc of contact correction factor.
Refer Table 5
(a) Calculate (D-d)/C
(b) Record correction factor
(c) Record arc of contact ()
10. Determine the belt length correction factor.
Refer Table 6 .
11. Calculate the number of belts required.
Number
of
belts
-----------------------------------------
WORKED EXAMPLE
Problem 1:
Design a vee belt drive to transmit power from an A.C. squirrel cage, delta start,
motor rotating at 1440 rev/min and rated at 11kW to a fan rotating at 720 rev/min.
Centres are to be near to, but not more than, 750mm apart and the driven pulley is not
to exceed 355mm outside diameter. The drive is to run a minimum of 18 hours per
day.
Data:
Motor: A.C. squirrel cage, delta start; 11kW ; 1440RPM
Fan: 720RPM
Centre distance 750mm
Driven pulley 355mm O.D.
operating hours 18 hours per day
Solution:
1. Service factor (S.F.).
Medium duty, 18 hr/day
S.F = 1.3
2. Design power rating (D.P.R.).
Choose next smallest belt to this dimension to give centre distance <750mm.
Select B2250,Cat No 240B0225 belt
(section 1711mm).
7. Accurate centre distance (CA).
4.254
+
0.402
step 4
-------------------(step 8 * step 9 * step 10)
14.3
-------------------(4.656 * 0.97 * 0.98)
Fan pulley
PCD=160mm
PCD=315mm
Cat No 013B0224
Cat No 013B0334
No of grooves = 4
No of grooves = 4
Pulley type - 3
Pulley type - 8
Belt Assignment
Write out your working fully.
Question 1. A 50 mm diameter lineshaft (medium duty) is to rotate at 400 10
rev/mm. Power is transmitted by a belt drive using a motor with frame size B14132M-4 and direct-on-line (DOL) start. The drive operates for 10 hours per day.
Centre distance between the motor and the shaft is to be as close as possible to 600
mm.
(Motor Frame Sizes - Metric: Foot mounted / Flange mounted or refer to the imperial
standard - Nema used in the US).
Determine:
(a) Wedge belt section required (use the largest feasible)
(b) Pitch diameter of the pulleys at the motor and lineshaft
(c) Speed of the lineshaft (to the nearest rev/mm) at full load
(d) Wedge belt length
(e) Centre distance between the motor and the lineshafi (to the nearest mm)
(f) Number of belts
(g) Catalogue number of the pulleys and taper bushes at the motor and lineshaft.
Question 2. A conveyor is driven by a belt drive from a 3 phase 8 pole electric
motor with star-delta start. At full load the output power of the motor is 20 kW and the
speed of the conveyor shaft is to be 250 10 rev/mm. Service can be described as
heavy duty and the conveyor will operate for 8 hours per day. The conveyor shaft is
60 mm in diameter and space restrictions limit the conveyor pulley to a maximum
diameter of 600 mm. The ratio of the belt tensions under load is expected to be 8:1.
Determine:
(a) Motor type
(b) Wedge belt section required (use the largest feasible)
(c) Pitch diameter of the pulleys at the motor and compressor shaft (use the largest
feasible)
(d) Speed of the conveyor (to the nearest rev/mm) at full load
(e) Wedge belt length
(f) Centre distance between the motor and the conveyor (to the nearest mm)
(g) Number of belts
(h) Catalogue number of the pulleys and taper bushes at the motor and conveyor
shafts
(i) Overhung load on the motor and conveyor shafts.