ABSTRACT

Belt friction is an experiment that involving belts and pulley and it is focused on the
aim of the experiment which is the coefficient of friction between belt and pulley.
Both belts attached on a pulley with a load and then attached on the other end of the
belt.

INTRODUCTION
Belt friction is a term that use to describe the frictional forces between a belt and a
surface. In this experiment, it will be between frictional force with the surface of the
pulley. Based on belt friction equation,

WT * r = (T1 – T2) * r or T1 = (T2 + WT)

where ,

WT = load on the torque hanger.

r = radius of the pulley.
T2= Load on belt.

By using this equation, we manage to calculate the coefficient of friction between belt
and pulley.
There are few assumptions had to be made before applying the equations,

1. The rope used during the experiment must be non-elastic.

2. The rope is on the verge of full sliding during the experiments.
3. The rope must be not rigid as to avoid losing of force during the bending of
the belt.

The weight of the lead pulley is taken when the pulley starts to rotate at constant
velocity. T2 is obtained by subtracting the total value W from T1. The ratio of T1/T2 is
taken and the value of loge (T1/T2) is calculated. A graph of ln (T1/T2) against contact
angle was plotted to find the coefficient of sliding friction between belt and pulley.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the coefficient of friction between belt and pulley.

APPARATUS
1 .Belt friction apparatus.
2 .Set of weights
PROCEDURE
1. Setup the apparatus.

2. The angle has been decided and recorded which is 45°

3. Screwed the stud to the mounting hole corresponding to the angle.

4. Hanged a load hanger at the hook end of the belt which is 5 N.

5. Wound a cord round the pulley to apply torque to the system.

6. Hanged a load hanger at the free end of the cord.

7. Applied tension to the belt by applying load on the hanger.

8. Small weights has been placed on the torque hanger and observed the pulley.
Removed the load from the hanger If the pulley does not move, increased the load
and placed it again on the hanger. Repeat until the load on the hanger is
able to rotate the pulley.

9. The last load would be adjusted on the hanger that causes the pulley to rotate
(decrease the load) to get more accurate result and the smallest load that
causes the rotation had been recorded. This provided the torque just sufficient to
overcome friction of the belt.

10. The tension in the belt and the weight on the torque hanger recorded.

11. Increased the tension in the belt and repeat step 9 to 12 for a few more load
increment such as 7 N,9 N,11 N,13 N on the belt.

12. The experiment repeated with another angle θ has been chosen which are 60°,
75°, 90°,105°.
RESULTS

Stud Angle Angle of Angle of Load on Belt Load on

δ Contact, θ Contact, θ T2 Torque
Degrees Degrees radian N Hanger, WT
N

5 5
45° 120° 0.785
7 6

9 8

11 9
13 10
5 4
60° 105° 1.047
7 7

9 8

11 10

13 12

5 5
75° 90° 1.309
7 7

9 9

11 11

13 13

5 5
90° 75° 1.571
7 7

9 9

11 11

13 12
5 5
105° 60° 1.833
7 7
 9 9

11 11

13 15

For each angle of contact plot, the graph of T2 versus WT

Obtain the slope of each graph to obtain the average belt tension, T2 for
each case.

45°

LOAD ON BELT (T2,N)

14

12 f(x) = x

10

8
Title

0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Axis Title

60°
 LOAD ON BELT (T2,N)
14

12 f(x) = x

10

0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

75°

LOAD ON BELT (T2,N)

14

12 f(x) = x

10

0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

90°
 LOAD ON BELT (T2,N)
14

12 f(x) = x

10

0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

105°

LOAD ON BELT (T2,N)

14

12 f(x) = x

10

0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

From the plot of T2 versus WT, the slope of the graph represent T2 per unit WT
Therefore, slope = (T2 / 1.0)
Or average tension in the belt, T2 = slope of graph and WT = 1.0
Hence average tension in the belt, T1 = slope of graph + 1.0
Obtain the average values of T1 and T2 and fill the values in Table 2.

TABLE 2

Average T1 Average T2 Angle of Contact,

Loge (T1 / T2)
N N θ, radian
1.5116+ 1.0 = 2.5116 1.5116
0.22 0.785
1.0326 + 1.0 = 2.0326 1.0326
0.29 1.047
1.0976 + 1.0 = 2.0976 1.0976
0.28 1.309
1.0976 + 1.0 = 2.0976 1.0976
0.28 1.571
0.8108 + 1.0 = 1.81 0.8108
0.35 1.833

Plot the graph of Loge (T1 / T2) versus Angle of Contact, θ

From the graph obtain the coefficient of friction for the belt.

Loge (T1 / T2) versus Angle of Contact, θ

0.16
0.14
f(x) = − 0.0139 x + 0.1549
0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
3.142 2.88 2.618 2.356 2.094

CALCULATION
Coefficient of friction belt
 logeT 1/T 2
μ= 3.142
teta×
180

0.118−0.093
= (165−120)× 3.142
180

0.025
=
0.7855

μ = 0.0318

DISCUSSION

Errors

1. The belts have mass.

2. The difficulty while conduct this experiment is that to determine whether the
pulleys are moving with constant acceleration only by looking at them without using
any measuring tools or measurement technique.

Ways to overcome

1. Avoid winding the rope too tightly since it can easily rotate, and avoid creating too
much friction between the rope and the pulley's surface.

CONCLUSION

So, to conclude the aim for this experiment is to determine the coefficient of friction
between belt and pulley which is we managed to achieve. We able to relate the
relationship between belt and pulley also each of the angle contain different weight.
Thus, the increased number of the contact surfaces between the pulley and belt, the
higher friction produced.

REFERENCE

1. https://dokumen.tips/documents/lab-3-belt-friction-experiment-
55844e478d248.html
2. https://pdfcoffee.com/vibration-lab-2-belt-friction-lab-report-autosaved-pdf-
free.html

3. http://labsandworkshops.blogspot.com/2019/05/belt-friction-lab-report-
mechanical.html