Statics › Section I · Friction › Topic I.5
Flexible belts
Wrap a rope a few times round a post and one hand can hold a ship. The same friction that makes that possible lets belts drive machines and band brakes stop drums, and it grows exponentially with the angle of wrap.
In this topic
- Ropes, belts and drums
- Which side is tighter?
- Deriving the belt equation
- The capstan equation
- Worked example: a line on a bollard
- Contact angles in belt drives
- Torque and power
- Worked example: a motor belt drive
- V-belts and band brakes
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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