1987

Lehto, Ari

Problems concerning the behaviour of power transmission belts at low temperatures were studied experimentally. A belt drive, designed according to the standard SFS 3527, was used at low temperatures. The minimum service temperature was determined for ten v-bells and one timing belt. The influence of pulley diameter, loading, tensioning method and storage time at low temperatures was studied experimentally. The main problems when using belts at low temperatures were caused by rubber materials becoming stiff and brittle. That increased the starting torques of the belts, and caused cracks in the top or the bottom rubber of the belt.