VIBRATIONAL POWER FLOW IN THE MOVING BELT PASSING THROUGH A TENSIONER

Because of the high performance and low weight requirements for modern machines including engines, the belts servicing high dynamic loads at high speed tend to be very susceptible to the transferred vibration. In this paper, a method is proposed for obtaining the physical characteristics of the transverse vibrational power flow through moving rubber belts. The governing equation is derived by applying Hamiltonʹs principle to the description of the flexural vibrations in axially moving belts, where the tensioner is considered to be a one-degree-of-freedom system. The total power flow calculated and measured in the moving belt is the sum of the true power flow and the power component associated with the steady medium motion. Consequently, any component that is due solely to the belt movement should be subtracted from the total power flow in order to obtain the true, net power flow. This concept is employed in calculating the transverse vibrational power flow through belt–pulley systems that include a tensioner. An equivalent system including an idler instead of the tensioner is also considered, and the observed power flow in this condition is ascribed to the power flow due only to the movement of the medium. The results of analysis show that the vibrational power of the two belt-spans flows into the tensioner. It is shown that the energy flow, measured by using two laser sensors, agrees reasonably well with the predicted results.