Power Transmission
Belts are the cheapest utility for power transmission between shafts that may not be axially aligned. Power transmission is achieved by specially designed belts and pulleys. The demands on a belt drive transmission system are large and this has led to many variations on the theme. They run smoothly and with little noise, and cushion motor and bearings against load changes, albeit with less strength than gears or chains. However, improvements in belt engineering allow use of belts in systems that only formerly allowed chains or gears.
Power transmitted between a belt and a pulley is expressed as the product of difference of tension and belt velocity:
where, T1 and T2 are tensions in the tight side and slack side of the belt respectively. They are related as:
where, μ is the coefficient of friction, and α is the angle subtended by contact surface at the centre of the pulley.
Read more about this topic: Belt (mechanical)
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