Influence of Installation Tension on Transmission Error due to Resonance in a Synchronous Belt

In synchronous belt drives, transmission error is generated due to resonance of the belt spanning the driving and driven pulleys when the transverse natural frequency of the belt approaches the meshing frequency of the belt and the pulley teeth. The behavior of the transmission error caused by resonance has been assumed to be dependent on the installation tension. In the present study, the influence of installation tension on the transmission error in a synchronous belt drive was experimentally investigated for a case in which first mode vibration due to resonance was induced in both the upper and lower spans. In addition, an analysis of the transmission error based on the experimental results was carried out. A transmission error contains two components: one with a period equal to the pitch of the pulley, and the other with a period of half the pulley pitch. Good agreement was found between the calculation and experimental results, thus confirming the validity of the analysis method. For a fixed pulley speed, the transmission error was largest when the installation tension was applied at a position where the displacement of the upper span was equal to that of the lower span. When the installation tension was varied and the pulley speed was adjusted so that the belt experienced resonance, the transmission error decreased with an increase in installation tension.