Fig. 2668.
But if the direction of motion be reversed as in [Fig. 2668], a still being the driving pulley, the side d will be the one most tightly strained, and therefore, the driving side of the belt; or, in other words, the driving side of a belt is always that side which approaches the driving pulley, and the slack side is always that which recedes from the driving pulley. In horizontal belts, however, the driving side of the belt is not a straight line, because of the belt sagging from its own weight no matter how tightly it may be strained, but the shorter the belt the less the sag.
Fig. 2669.
It is always, therefore, desirable, so far as the driving power of the belt is concerned, to have the lower half (of belts running horizontally) the driving side, because in that case the sag of the belt causes it to envelop a greater arc of the pulley, which increases its driving power. If the circumstances will not permit this and the sag of the belt operates to practically incapacitate the belt for its duty, what is termed an idle wheel or idler may be employed as shown in [Fig. 2669] at e, serving to prevent the sag and to cause the belt on the driving side to envelop a greater portion of the pulley’s circumference, and hence increase its friction on the pulley and therefore its driving power. In the example the two pulleys a and b are of equal diameters; hence the idle wheel is placed midway between them, but when such is not the case the idle wheel should be located according to the circumstances and the following considerations. The idle wheel requires a certain amount of power to drive it, and this amount will be greater as the idle wheel is nearer to the smallest wheel of the pair connected; but on the other hand, the closer the idle wheel to the small pulley (all other factors being equal) the greater the arc of small pulley surface enveloped by the belt, and hence the greater the belt’s driving power. When therefore a maximum increase of driving power is required, the idler must be placed near to the smallest pulley, the desired effect being paid for in the increased amount of motive power required to rotate the driving pulley.
But under equal conditions the larger the diameter of the idle wheel the less the power required to drive it, because the less its friction on its journal bearing. A belt tightener should whenever practicable be placed on the slack side of the belt.
Belt tighteners are sometimes used to give intermittent motion, as in the case of trip hammers; the belt being vertical is made long enough to run loose, until the tightening pulley closes the belt upon the pulley, taking up its slack and increasing the arc of contact.
