ROLLING CONTACT BETWEEN A RUBBER RING AND RIGID CYLINDERS: EULER'S BELT THEORY REVISITED

摘要

We revisit the classical creep theory for a belt drive system and present the extended theory with neo-Hookean material which allows us to a unified description from the viewpoint of continuum mechanics. Based on the general theory of belt mechanics, we formulate the rolling contact between a rubber ring and rigid cylinders and examine the contact force on the pulleys and the boundary between the stick and slip zones. The theoretical results are compared with the results by finite element analysis to evaluate the effect of nonlinear elasticity and geometry of the belt. We also discuss the validity and limitation of the classical creep theory.