Nonlinear material modeling and finite element analysis of V-ribbed belts

The V-ribbed belt-drive system has become increasingly important to the automotive industry. There is a need to understand the operational characteristics of these belt-drive systems for optimal design and manufacturing. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model was built to study the belt-pulley contact interaction. V-ribbed belt is composed of rubber, reinforcing cords, and fabric texture. Rubber is modeled as hyperelastic material. A novel strain energy function based on neural network was developed to fit the rubber test data. This material model is found to be superior than the available strain energy functions in the literature. Reinforcing cord and fabric texture are modeled as rebar elements. A segment of belt wraps around a pulley was modeled. By varying the parameters such as pulley diameter, pulley groove wedge angle, belt wrap angle, and pulley torque load, different pulley in the belt drive system can be simulated. The pulley groove was modeled as rigid surface, and the belt-pulley interaction is modeled by frictional contact. Pulley axial reaction force under different axial misalignment was obtained from two-pulley experimental setup to validate the finite element model. The model developed was used to conduct a variety of case studies for the belt-drive system to investigate the influence of the system parameters and pulley misalignments on the belt-pulley contact mechanics. The sensitive parameters are identified. The influence of increased temperature and aging on belt material properties and belt-pulley contact is also discussed.