CH 17: Flexible Mechanical Elements

Flexible mechanical elements (belts, chains, ropes) are used in conveying systems and
to transmit power over long distances (instead of using shafts and gears).
 The use of flexible elements simplifies the design and reduces cost.
 Also, since these elements are elastic and usually long, they play a role in absorbing
shock loads and reducing vibrations.
 Disadvantage, they have shorter life than gears, shafts, etc.
Belts
 There are four basic types of belts (Table 17-1):
 Flat belts ~ crowned pulleys.
 Round belts ~ grooved pulleys.
 V-belts ~ grooved pulleys.
 Timing belts ~ toothed pulleys.

 Characteristics of belt drives:

 Pulley axis must be separated by certain minimum distance. Why?
 Can be used for long centers distance.
 Except for timing belts, there is some slipping between belt and pulley, thus
angular velocity ratio is not constant or equal to the ratio of pulley diameters.
 A tension pulley can be used to maintain tension in the belt.

 There are two main configurations for belt drives; open and crossed (Fig 17-1)
where the direction of rotation will be reversed for the crossed belt drive.
 The figure shows reversing and non-reversing belt drives, always there is one loose
side depending on the driver pulley and the direction of rotation.

 Fig. (17-3) shows flat belt drive for out of-plane pulleys.
 Fig. (17-4) shows how clutching action can be obtained by shifting the belt from
loose to a tight pulley.
 Fig. (17-5) shows two types of variable-speed belt drives.

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Ch.17 (R1) Page 1 of 12

Flat and Round Belt Drives
Flat belt drivers produce very little noise and they absorb more vibration from the
system than V-belts.
Also, flat belts drives have high efficiency of about 98 % (same as for gears) compared
to 70-96 % for V-belts.
 For open belt drives, the contact angles are:
Dd
 d    2 sin 1
2C
Dd Larger contact-angle
 D    2 sin 1
for the large pulley
2C
where: D : diameter of larger pulley
d : diameter of smaller pulley
C : centers distance
 And the length of the belt is:
1
L 4C 2  ( D  d ) 2  ( D D  d d )
2

 For crossed belt drives, the contact angle is the same

for both pulleys:
Dd
    2 sin 1
2C
 And the belt length is:
1
L 4C 2  ( D  d ) 2  ( D  d )
2

 Force Analysis:
 Tight side tension:
F1  Fi  Fc  F 
 Fi  Fc  T / D

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Ch.17 (R1) Page 2 of 12

  Loose side tension:
F2  Fi  Fc  F  Note that D refers to the
diameter of the driver pulley
 Fi  Fc  T / D smallest value of the contact

where Fi : initial tension, Fc : hoop tension due to centrifugal force,

and F  : tension due to transmitted torque.

 The total transmitted force is the difference between F1 & F2

2T
F1  F2 
D
 The centrifugal tension FC can be found as:
Fc = mr22
where  is the angular velocity & m is the mass per unit length.
It also can be written as:
w 2
Fc 
V
g
where g = 9.81 m/s2, w : is weight per unit length, V=πDn

 The initial tension can be expressed as:

F1  F2
Fi   Fc
2 (1)
 The belting equation relates the possible belt tension values with the coefficient
of friction and it is defined as:
F1  Fc Note that is the smallest
 e f value of the contact angle
F2  Fc
where f: coefficient of friction, : contact angle.
 Substituting in eqn.(1) we find the relation between Fi and T

T e f  1 Minimum value of Fi needed to transmit

Fi 
D e f  1 a certain value of torque without slipping

 This equation shows that if Fi is zero; then T is zero (i.e. there is no

transmitted torque).

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Ch.17 (R1) Page 3 of 12

  Substituting in F1 & F2 equations we get:
�
= + � � +
Used to find the F1 & F2 values when the belt
is on the verge of slipping or to find F1 & F2
for small Fi values where slipping is occurring
= + (note that the kinetic coefficient of friction
�  + should be used in such case)

 Plotting F1 & F2 vs. Fi we can see that the

initial tension needs to be sufficient so that the
difference between F1 & F2 curves is 2T/D.

 Table 17-2 gives the manufacturers specifications

for the allowable tension for each type of belts.

 When a belt is selected, the tension in the tight side is set to be equal to the max
allowable tension for that belt type.
 However, severity of flexing at the pulley, and the belt speed affect the belt life,
thus they need to be accounted for.
 Therefore the max allowable tension is found as:
(F1 )a=bFa C P CV

where:
Fa : allowable tension per unit width for a specific belt material (kN/m)
(Table 17-2)
b : belt width (m)
CP : pulley correction factor (for the severity of flexing), it is found from (Table
17-4) for the small pulley diameter. Use CP=1 for urethane belts

CV : velocity correction factor. (For velocities other than 3 m/s), it is found

from Fig. 17-9 for leather belts. For polyamide or urethane belts use CV=1

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Ch.17 (R1) Page 4 of 12

 The transmitted horsepower can be found as:

H  ( F1  F2 )V  Tn

 However, when designing a belt drive, a design factor nd needs to be included to

account for unquantifiable effects. Also another correction factor KS is included
to account for load deviations from the nominal value (i.e., over loads).
 Thus the design horsepower is:
H d  H nom K S nd

 Steps for analyzing flat belts include:

1. Find  for the smallest pulley from geometry (find ef if needed).

w 2
2. From belt material and speed find FC. FC  V
g

3. Find the transmitted torque.

T  H d n  ( H nom K S nd ) n
4. From torque T, find the transmitted load.

( F1 ) a  F2  2T D
5. From belt material, drive geometry & speed, find ( F1 ) a .

( F1 ) a  bFa C P Cv
6. Find F2
Note that F2 must
F2  ( F1 ) a  (( F1 ) a  F2 )
be larger than zero

7. From ( F1 ) a , F2 & FC find Fi .

( F1 ) a  F2
Fi   FC
2

8. Check if the friction of the belt material is sufficient to transmit the torque.

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Ch.17 (R1) Page 5 of 12

 > ̀
1 ( F1 ) a  FC Minimum friction needed to transmit
where f ln the load without slipping
 F2  FC
Alternatively, the comparison can be made between the
calculated Fi and the minimum required value of Fi

9. Find the factor of safety n fs  H a H nom K S

See Example 17-1 from text

V-Belts
The cross sectional dimensions of V-belts are standardized. Each letter designates a
certain cross section (see Table 17-9).
 A V-belt can be specified by the cross section letter followed by the inside
circumference length.
 Table 17-10 gives the standard lengths for V-belts.
 However, calculations involving the belt length are usually based on pitch length
for standard belts.
 Table 17-11 gives the quantity to be added to the inside length.
Example: Pitch length of C-1500 belt is: 1500 + 72 = 1572 mm.
 The standard angle for the V-belts cross section is 40˚; however the sheave angle is
slightly smaller causing the belt to wedge itself inside the sheave to increase
friction.
 The operating speed for V-belts needs to be high and the recommended speed
range is from 5 to 25 m/s. Best performance is obtained at speed of 20 m/s.

 For V-belts, the pitch length LP, and center-to-center distance are found as:
LP  2C   ( D  d ) / 2  ( D  d ) 2 /(4C )
and
     
2 
C  0.25 LP  ( D  d )   LP  ( D  d )  2( D  d ) 2 
 2   2  

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Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

Ch.17 (R1) Page 6 of 12

  While there are no limitations on the center-to-center distance for flat belts, for
V-belts the center-to-center distance should not exceed 3(D+d) because the
excessive vibrations of the loose side will shorten the belt life. why?
 Also the centers distance should not be less than D.

 Horsepower:
 Table 17-12 gives the horsepower rating for each belt cross-section (according to
sheave pitch diameter and belt speed).
 The allowable horsepower per-belt, Ha is found as:
Power that can be
H a  K1 K 2 H tab transmitted by each belt

from Table 17-12

where,
K1: contact angle correction factor (Table 17-13).
Note: the contact angles for V-belts are found using the same
equations used for flat belts.
K2: belt length correction factor (Table 17-14).

 The design horsepower is found as:

 Power that needs to
H d  H nom K S nd be transmitted from
the power source to
the driven machine
where,
Hnom: nominal horsepower of the power source.
KS: service factor for overloads (Table 17-15).
nd: design factor of safety.

 The number of belts needed to transmit the design horsepower is found as:
H
Nb  d where Nb is an integer
Ha

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Ch.17 (R1) Page 7 of 12

 The belting equation for V-belts is the same equation used for flat belts. The
effective coefficient of friction for Gates Rubber Company belts is 0.5123
F1  Fc
Thus,  e 0.5123
F2  Fc

 Where the centrifugal tension Fc is found as:

2
V 
Fc  K C  
 2.4 
KC: accounts for mass of the belt (Table 17-16).

 The transmitted force per belt (F1 - F2) is found as:

H d Nb
F1  F2 
n(d 2)
where n (rad/s) & d are for the driver pulley.
e f
 Thus, F1 can be found as: F1  Fc  F1  F2  f
e 1

 Then F2 can be found from: F2  F1  F1  F2 

F1  F2
 And Fi is found as: Fi   Fc
2

 In flat-belt force analysis, the tension

induced from bending the belt was
not accounted for explicitly (since belt
thickness is not that large), however,
in V-belts the effect of flexural stress
is more pronounced, and thus it
affects the durability (life) of the belt.
The figure shows the two tension
peaks T1 & T2 resulting from belt
flexure.

 The values of tension peaks are found as:

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Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

Ch.17 (R1) Page 8 of 12

 � = + = +

� = + = +

Where,
(Fb)1 & (Fb)2 are the added components of tension due to the flexure of
the belt on the smaller and larger pulleys.
K b is used to account for belt flexure and it is found from Table 17-16.

 The life of V-belts is defined as the number of passes the belt can do (NP), and it is
found as:
− − −

�� = [( ) +( ) ]
� �

 where K & b are found from Table 17-17.

Then, life time (in hours) is found as:

�� �
�=
6

Note: K & b values given in Table 17-17 are valid only for the indicated
range. Thus, if NP is found to be larger than 109 it is reported as NP=109
a d life ti e i hours t is fou d usi g NP=109. Also, if it is found to be
less than 108, the belt life is considered to be short and inappropriate.

 Steps for analyzing V-belts include:

 Find V, LP, C,  and e0.5123
 Find Hd, Ha then the number of belts Nb
 Find Fc, ∆F, F1, F2 & Fi
 Find T1, T2 and then belt life NP & t

See Example 17-4 from text

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Ed. Class Notes by: Dr. Ala Hijazi

Ch.17 (R1) Page 9 of 12

12.3 Chain drives
 A chain is a power transmission device consisting of a series of pin-
connected links . The chain transmits power between two rotating
shafts by meshing with toothed sprockets .

 Chain drives are usually manufactured using high-strength steel and for this
reason are capable of transmitting high torque. Chain drives are
complimentary and compet-itive with belt drives serving the function of
transmitting a wide range of powers for shaft speeds up to about 6000
rpm. At higher speeds, the cyclic impact between the chain links and the
sprocket teeth, high noise and difficulties in providing lubrication, limit the
application of chain drives.

 Chain drives are principally used for power transmission, con-veyors

and for supporting or lifting loads (see, American Chain
Association, 2005). Applications range from motorcycle and bicycle
transmissions, automotive

Chains

Roller Leaf Conveyor Silent

British standard ANSI

range range

Standard Double Bush Standard Heavy

series pitch chain series series

Fig. 12.22 Chain types.

Outer Fig. 12.24 Conveyor chain.
plate

Roller

Bearing Inner
pin plate

Inner plate Outer

assembly plate

Fig. 12.23 Roller chain

components.

Fig. 12.28 Silent chain. Fig. 12.26 Leaf chain.

 Roller Chain
 Basic features of chain drives include a constant ratio, since no slippage or creep is
involved; long life; and the ability to drive a number of shafts from a single source
of power.

 Roller chains have been standardized as to sizes by the ANSI. Figure 17–16
shows the nomenclature. The pitch is the linear distance between the centers of
the rollers. The width is the space between the inner link plates. These chains are
manu-factured in single, double, triple, and quadruple strands. The dimensions of
standard sizes are listed in Table 17–19.
Roller diameter

Strand
spacing
Figure 17–16
Width
Portion of a double-strand
roller chain.

Pitch p

Figure 17–17

 Figure 17–17 shows a sprocket driving a chain and Engagement of a chain and
sprocket.
rotating in a counterclockwise direction. Denoting the p
chain pitch by p, the pitch angle by , and the pitch e A
B
diameter of the sprocket by D, from the trigonometry ␥ /2

of the figure we see ␥

Variable

g py2 p D
sin 5 or D5 (a)
2 Dy2 sin(gy2)
Since g 5 360°yN, where N is the number of sprocket teeth, Eq. (a) can be written
p
D5 (17–29)
sin(180°yN)

 The angle gy2, through which the link swings as it enters contact, is called the angle of
articulation. It can be seen that the magnitude of this angle is a function of the number of teeth.
Rotation of the link through this angle causes impact between the rollers and the sprocket teeth and
also wear in the chain joint. Since the life of a properly selected drive is a function of the wear and the
surface fatigue strength of the rollers, it is important to reduce the angle of articulation as much as
possible.
  The number of sprocket teeth also affects the velocity ratio during the rotation through
the pitch angle g. At the position shown in Fig. 17–17, the chain AB is tan-gent to the pitch
circle of the sprocket. However, when the sprocket has turned an angle of gy2, the chain line
AB moves closer to the center of rotation of the sprocket. This means that the chain line AB is
moving up and down, and that the lever arm varies with rotation through the pitch angle, all
resulting in an uneven chain exit velocity. You can think of the sprocket as a polygon in which
the exit velocity of the chain depends upon whether the exit is from a corner, or from a flat of
the polygon. Of course, the same effect occurs when the chain first enters into engagement
with the sprocket.

 The chain velocity V is defined as the number of feet coming off the sprocket
per unit time. Thus the chain velocity in feet per minute is
Npn
V5 (17–30)
12
where N 5 number of sprocket teeth
p 5 chain pitch, in
n 5 sprocket speed, rev/min
The maximum exit velocity of the chain is
pDn pnp
vmax 5 5 (b)
12 12 sin(gy2)
where Eq. (a) has been substituted for the pitch diameter D. The minimum exit velocity
occurs at a diameter d, smaller than D. Using the geometry of Fig. 17–17, we find
g
d 5 D cos (c)
2
Thus the minimum exit velocity is
pdn pnp cos(gy2)
vmin 5 5 (d)
12 12 sin(gy2)

20
Chordal speed

Figure 17–18
variation, %

10

0
0 10 20 30 40

Number of teeth, N

Now substituting gy2 5 180°yN and employing Eqs. (17–30), (b), and (d), we find
the speed variation to be
¢V
5 c d
vmax 2 vmin p 1 1
5 2 (17–31)
V V N sin(180°yN) tan(180°yN)

This is called the chordal speed variation and is plotted in Fig. 17–18.
  Although a large number of teeth is considered desirable for the driving
sprocket, in the usual case it is advantageous to obtain as small a sprocket as
possible, and this requires one with a small number of teeth. For smooth operation
at moderate and high speeds it is considered good practice to use a driving
sprocket with at least 17 teeth; 19 or 21 will, of course, give a better life
expectancy with less chain noise. Where space limitations are severe or for
very slow speeds, smaller tooth numbers may be used by sacrificing the life
expectancy of the chain.

 Driven sprockets are not made in standard sizes over 120 teeth, because the
pitch elongation will eventually cause the chain to “ride” high long before the chain
is worn out. The most successful drives have velocity ratios up to 6:1, but higher
ratios may be used at the sacrifice of chain life.

 Roller chains seldom fail because they have tensile strength; they more often fail
because they have been subjected to a great many hours of service. Actual failure
may be due either to wear of the rollers on the pins or to fatigue of the surfaces
of the rollers.

 Roller-chain manufacturers have compiled tables that give the horsepower

capacity corresponding to a life expectancy of 15 kh for various sprocket
speeds. These capacities are tabulated in Table 17–20 for 17-tooth sprockets.
Table 17–21 displays available tooth counts on sprockets of one supplier.
Table 17–22 lists the tooth correction factors for other than 17 teeth. Table 17–23
shows the multiple-strand factors K2.

12.3.1 Roller chain selection

 Chain design is based on ensuring that the power transmission capacity is within limits for
three modes of failure: fatigue, impact and galling. Chains are designed so that the
maximum tensile stress is below the fatigue endurance limit for finite life of the material.
Failure would nevertheless eventually occur but it would be due to wear, not fatigue. In
service, failures due to wear can be eliminated by inspection and replacement intervals.

 Once the use of a chain drive has been shown to be preferable to other forms of drive,
the type of chain to be used can be selected from the range available as illustrated in Fig.
12.22. The next step is the design of the chain drive layout and selection of the
standard components available from chain manufacturers. The method outlined here
is for roller chains. Procedures for the selection of other chain types can be found in
manufacturers’ catalogues.

 The method is based upon the use of power rating charts for the chain drive, which
ensure 15,000 h operation assuming proper installation, operation and lubrication. The
steps for the method are itemised as follow and illustrated in Fig. 12.33.
 –

N N C N N p
L
p C

( )

Fig. 12.33 See the legend on next page.

 1. Determine the power to be transmitted.
2. Determine the speeds of the driving and driven shafts.
3. Determine the characteristics of the driving and driven shaft, for example type
of running, whether smooth or shock loadings, etc.
4. Set the approximate centre distance. This should normally be in the range of
30–50 times the chain pitch.
5. Select the speed ratio. This is dependent on the standard sizes available as
listed in Table 12.22. Ideally sprockets should have a minimum of 19 teeth. For
high-speed drives subjected to transient loads, the minimum number of teeth
rises to 25. Note that the max-imum number of teeth should not exceed 114.
6. Establish the application and tooth factors: Table 12.23 gives values for the
application factor f1. The tooth factor is given by f2 =19/N1 assuming that the
selection rating charts are based on a 19-tooth sprocket.
7. Calculate the selection power. Selection power ¼ Power  f1  f2.
8. Select the chain drive pitch. Use power speed rating charts as supplied by chain
manufac-turers (see Fig. 12.34). The smallest pitch of a simple chain should be
used as this normally gives the most economical drive. If the power
requirement at a given speed is beyond the
capacity of a single strand of chain, then the use of a multistrand chain, such
as duplex
(2 strands), triplex (3 strands) and up to decuplex (10 strands) for the ANSI
range, permits
higher power to be transmitted and can be considered.
9. Calculate the chain length. Eq. (12.13) gives the chain length as a function of the
number of pitches. Note that the value for the length should be rounded up to
the nearest even integer.
10. Calculate the exact centre distance. This can be calculated using Eq. (12.14).
11. Specify the lubrication method.
Table 12.22 Chain reduction ratios as a function of the standard sprockets available
Number of teeth in the drive sprocket (N1)
Number of teeth in the driven
sprocket (N2) 15 17 19 21 23 25

25 – – – – – 1.00
38 2.53 2.23 2.00 1.80 1.65 1.52
57 3.80 3.35 3.00 2.71 2.48 2.28
76 5.07 4.47 4.00 3.62 3.30 3.04
95 6.33 5.59 5.00 4.52 4.13 3.80
114 7.60 6.70 6.00 5.43 4.96 4.56

Reproduced from Renold Power Transmission, 2010. Transmision chain. Installation, maintenance and designer guide.
http://www.renold.com/media/165418/Transmission-I-and-M-REN12-ENG-10-10.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2018).

Table 12.23 Application factor

Characteristics of driver

Slight shocks, e.g. IC Heavy

Smooth running, e.g. engines with more shocks, e.g.
electric motors, IC than six cylinders, IC engines
Driven machine engines with electric motors with with less than
characteristics hydraulic coupling frequent starts six cylinders

Smooth running, e.g. 1 1.1 1.3

fans, pumps,
compressors, printing
machines, uniformly
loaded conveyors.
Moderate shocks, e.g. 1.4 1.5 1.7
concrete mixing
machines,
nonuniformly loaded
conveyors, mixers
Heavy shocks, e.g. 1.8 1.9 2.1
planars, presses,
drilling rigs.

Reproduced from Renold Power Transmission, 2010. Transmision chain. Installation, maintenance and designer guide.
http://www.renold.com/media/165418/Transmission-I-and-M-REN12-ENG-10-10.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2018).
Fig. 12.34 British Standard chain drives rating chart using 19-tooth drive sprocket.
Courtesy of Renold Chain.

The chain length, in pitches, is given by

 
N1 + N2 2C N2  N 1 2 p
L¼ + + (12.13)
2 p 2π C

where L ¼ number of pitches, N1 ¼ number of teeth in the driving sprocket,

N2 ¼ number of teeth in the driven sprocket, C ¼ centre distance (m) and p ¼ chain
pitch (m).
 The exact centre distance is given by
 rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
p π
C ¼ 2L  N2  N1 + ð2L  N2  N1 Þ2  ðN2  N1 Þ2 (12.14)
8 3:88

 Chain drives should be protected against dirt and moisture (tell this to a mountain biker!).
Lubrication should be provided using a nondetergent mineral-based oil. For the majority of
applications, multigrade SAE20/50 is suitable. There are five prin-ciple types of lubrication:
manual application, drip feed, bath, stream (see Fig. 12.35) and dry lubrication. Grease
lubrication is not recommended but can be used for chain speeds of <4 m/s. In order to ensure
the grease penetrates the working parts of the chain, it should be heated until liquid and the
chain dipped into the grease until the air has been displaced. This process should be repeated
at regular service intervals. For dry lubrication, solid lubricant is contained in a volatile carrier
fluid. When applied to chain, the carrier transports the lubricant into the chain and then
evaporates leaving the chain lubricated but dry to touch. Applications for dry lubrication
include food-processing, dusty environments and fabric handling.

Fig. 12.35 Chain lubrication methods.

Courtesy of Renold Chain.

The pitch diameters for the driving and driven sprockets are given by

N1 p N2 p
D1 ¼ D2 ¼ (12.15)
π π

and the angle of contact (in radians) between the chain and the sprockets by

pðN 2  N 1 Þ
θ1 ¼ π  2sin 1 (12.16a)
2πC

pðN2  N1 Þ
θ2 ¼ π + 2sin 1 (12.16b)
2πC

Note that the minimum angle of wrap recommended for the small sprocket is 120°.
The chain tension is given by

Power
Chain tension ¼ (12.17)
N1 ω1 p=2π
Standard sprockets can be purchased. The choice of sprocket material depends on the number of
teeth and the operating conditions as shown in Table 12.24.
 Example 12.6. A chain drive is required for a gear pump operating at 400 rpm driven
by a 5.5 kW electric motor running at 1440 rpm. The centre distance between the
motor and pump shafts is approximately 470 mm.
Table 12.24 Selection of sprocket materials.
Smooth
Sprocket running Moderate shocks Heavy shocks

Up to 080M40 080M40 or 070M55 080M40 or 070M55

29 teeth or hardened and tempered or hardened and tempered or
070M55 case hardened mild steel case hardened mild steel
Over Cast iron Mild steel 080M40 or 070M55
30 teeth hardened and tempered or
case hardened mild steel

Reproduced from Renold Power Transmission, 2010. Transmision chain. Installation, maintenance and designer guide.
http://www.renold.com/media/165418/Transmission-I-and-M-REN12-ENG-10-10.pdf (Accessed 10 June 2018).

Solution
400 ¼ 3:6.
The desired reduction ratio is 1440
The nearest ratio available (see Table 12.22) using standard sized sprockets is 3.62.
This requires a driving sprocket of 21 teeth and a driven sprocket of 76 teeth.
The application factor from Table 12.23 is f1 ¼ 1.0.
The tooth factor f2 ¼ N191 ¼ 19
21 ¼ 0:905.
The selection power ¼ 5.5  1.0  0.905 ¼ 4.98 kW.
Using the BS/ISO selection chart, Fig. 12.34, a 12.7-mm pitch simple BS chain
drive is suitable.
The chain length is given by
 
N1 + N2 2C N2  N1 2 p
L¼ + +
2 p 2π C
 
21 + 76 2  470 76  21 2 12:7
¼ + + ¼ 124:6 pitches
2 12:7 2π 470

Rounding up to the nearest even integer gives L ¼ 126 pitches.

The exact centre distance can now be calculated using
 rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
p π
C ¼ 2L  N2  N1 + ð2L  N2  N1 Þ2  ðN2  N1 Þ2
8 3:88
 rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
12:7 π
C¼ 2  126  76  21 + ð2  126  76  21Þ2  ð76  21Þ2
8 3:88
¼ 479:2 mm

From the rating chart, Fig. 12.34, the required lubrication type is oil bath. Use of a
SAE20/50 multigrade lubricant would likely suffice in the absence of more detailed
knowledge concerning the operating conditions.
Example 12.7. Specify a suitable drive for a gear pump operating at 400 rpm driven by
a 30 kW electric motor running at 728 rpm. The centre distance between the motor and
pump shafts is approximately 1 m.

Solution
The desired reduction ratio is 728400 ¼ 1:82.
From Table 12.22, the nearest ratio using standard sized sprockets is 1.8. N1 ¼ 21,
N2 ¼ 38.
From Table 12.23, f1 ¼ 1.0.
The tooth factor f2 ¼ N191 ¼ 19
21 ¼ 0:905.
The selection power ¼ 30  1.0  0.905 ¼ 27.15 kW.
Using the BS/ISO selection chart, Fig. 12.34, a 25.4-mm pitch simple BS chain
drive is suitable with oil bath lubrication

 
21 + 38 2  1000 38  21 2 25:4
L¼ + + ¼ 108:4 pitches
2 25:4 2π 1000

Rounding up to the nearest even integer gives L ¼ 110 pitches.

The exact centre distance is
 rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
25:4 π
C¼ 2  110  38  21 + ð2  110  38  21Þ2  ð38  21Þ2
8 3:88
¼ 1020 mm

Example 12.8. Specify a suitable chain drive for a packaging machine operating at
75 rpm driven by a 2.2-kW electric motor running at 710 rpm. The maximum permis-
sible centre distance between the motor and packaging machine shafts is approxi-
mately 1 m.
Solution
There is no unique solution to this question. What follows is one possible solution.
The speed ratio 710/75 ¼ 9.47 is too high for a single reduction and is outside the
range listed in Table 12.22. A two stage reduction might be feasible.
Examination of Table 12.22 for a combination of reductions shows that choosing
ratios of 3.8 and 2.48 might be suitable.
As 3.8  2.48 ¼ 9.424 is close to the target reduction, this combination is likely to
be acceptable and would give an output speed of 75.3 rpm.
Using the larger reduction on the higher-speed drive, so for a ratio of 3.8 from
Table 12.22, N1 ¼ 25, N2 ¼ 95.
The application factor from Table 12.23 assuming moderate shocks is 1.4.
The tooth factor f2 ¼ N191 ¼ 19
25 ¼ 0:76.
The selection power ¼ 2.2  1.4  0.76 ¼ 2.34 kW.

Using the BS/ISO selection chart, Fig. 12.34, the following drives would be
suitable:
12.7-mm pitch in oil bath (simple),
9.525 mm drip feed (duplex).
Selecting the simple chain, p ¼ 12.7 mm.
Take the distance between the sprocket centres as the minimum recommended, that
is 30  p ¼ 30  12.7 ¼ 381 mm to ensure the design fits in the space available. This
constraint can be relaxed at a later stage if appropriate.
The chain length is given by
 
25 + 95 2  381 95  25 2 12:7
L¼ + + ¼ 124:1 pitches:
2 12:7 2π 381

Rounding up to the nearest even integer gives L ¼ 126 pitches.

 The exact centre distance is given by
 rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ffiffiffiffi
12:7 π
C¼ 2  126  95  25 + ð132Þ2  ð70Þ2 ¼ 393:7 mm
8 3:88

For the second chain with a ratio of 2.48, N1 ¼ 23, N2 ¼ 57.

The application factor from Table 12.23 is 1.4.
The tooth factor f2 ¼ N191 ¼ 19
23 ¼ 0:8261.
The selection power ¼ 2.2  1.4  0.8261 ¼ 2.544 kW.
Using the BS/ISO selection chart, Fig. 12.34, the following drives would be
suitable:
12.7-mm pitch in oil bath (simple),
9.525-mm drip feed (duplex).
Selecting the simple chain, p ¼ 12.7 mm.
Again the distance between the sprocket centres can be taken as the minimum rec-
ommended, that is 30  p ¼ 30  12.7 ¼ 381 mm.
The chain length is given by
 
23 + 57 2  381 57  23 2 12:7
L¼ + + ¼ 101:0 pitches
2 12:7 2π 381

Rounding up to the nearest even integer gives L ¼ 102 pitches.

The exact centre distance is given by
 rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ffiffiffiffi
12:7 π
C¼ 2  102  57  23 + ð124Þ2  ð34Þ2 ¼ 387:6 mm
8 3:88

The combination of the two centre distances fits in the space available.
An alternative might be to arrange the chain sprockets vertically or at an angle to
the horizontal in order to accommodate the centre distance restriction.