ABSTRACT
Belts were developed to provide a means for transmitting power from the prime mover – a water wheel and later a steam engine - to the point where it was actually needed. One of the weaknesses of the original V-belt design was that the center tension member cords didn’t carry a significant portion of the load while their flexure created heat. As a V-belt wraps around the sheave the elastomer bulges outward, transmitting power from the sheave to the belt tension member cords. Sizing a V-belt is not terribly complicated and most manufacturers have web design programs that are readily available and catalogs with the design steps clearly outlined. The stress cycles seen by a V-belt and a synchronous belt are essentially identical but, because the synchronous belt is thinner, the fatigue stress contribution from bending is much less. The more power a belt drive transmits, the harder the drive works and the more heat it will generate.
