Effect of Bending Stiffness on the Dynamic and Steady-State Responses of Belt-Drives

In this study, an explicit time integration finite element model is used to study the effect of belt bending on the dynamic and steady-state responses of belt-drives. Three-node beam elements based on the torsional-spring formulation are used to model the belt. The pulleys are modeled as rigid circular bodies. The driver pulley’s angular velocity is prescribed. Frictional contact between the pulleys and the belt is modeled using a penalty formulation with the frictional contact governed by a Coulomb-like tri-linear friction law. Several response quantities are generated including the normal contact force and tangential friction force distributions between the pulleys and the belt, the driven pulley angular velocity, and the belt-spans mid-span tensions and transverse vibrations.