V Belt Slippage

• How does v belt slippage occur?
• The dangers of v belt slippage
• V belt slippage prevention with continuous monitoring systems
• V belt slippage monitoring case studies
• Further information about v belt slippage monitoring

How does v belt slippage occur?
V belts (also known as vee belts or wedge rope) are the most popular belt drive option in modern industry, providing the optimum combination of long service life and power transfer through high traction levels.

V belts are mounted in the sheave (or groove) of the pulley and generally cannot slip off the pulley, due to their trapezoidal (or ‘wedge’) shape, which has the effect of wedging itself more firmly into the pulley sheave during operation, as the load increases, which has the added effect of increasing torque.

However, v belts need to be correctly tensioned to ensure efficient power transference, and to prevent damage to the v belt, the pulley drive and other components.

If a v belt is too slack, it will begin to slip on the pulley during operation. V belt slippage is a major contributing factor to v belt failure leading to catastrophic failure in critical drives and assets.

Increasingly, v belt slippage monitoring systems are employed in industrial applications to monitor v belt driven machinery such as pumps, compressors and conveyors. The SENSSLIP® system is becoming widely recognised as the leading and most effective v belt monitoring system for the monitoring, detection and prevention of v belt slippage – SENSSLIP® ensures energy wastage is minimised and belt failures are prevented.

The dangers of v belt slippage:

• Loss of power transfer from pulley to pulley – meaning lower power output with drives operating at sub-optimum levels
• Increased energy costs - Up to 7% of the electricity used to run a drive belt could be lost through slippage, which on a 100KW drive running constantly could be as much as £5,000 a year.
• Overheating of v belts leading to v belt burn out, also called v belt burn off.
• V belt failure and breakage, resulting from over heating due to the increased friction of v belt slippage.
• Overheating of drive motors due to unrestricted spin
• Increased wear on pulley sheaves
• Decrease in production or process output

V belt slippage prevention with continuous monitoring systems:
SENSSLIP® is a continuous monitoring system for v belt drives. SENSSLIP® detects the onset of v belt slippage (at levels exceeding acceptable tolerances) and raises an alert so that corrective action can be taken before damage is inflicted to the v belt, the pulleys or the drives.

SENSSLIP® provides a visual colour-coded LED status alert to provide an at-a-glance assessment of v belt slippage. SENSSLIP® can also be configured to provide alerts to mobile phone via SMS, it can be linked into a site’s PLC or SCADA asset management system, and can even be wired into a klaxon.

The SENSSLIP® CRITICAL system provides additional functionality and can be configured to shut down a critical drive motor in the event of v belt failure.

Through the use of continuous v belt slippage monitoring, the SENSSLIP® system enables cost savings on unnecessary planned maintenance activity but still provides the safety of alerting you to when belts are reaching failure point.

V belt slippage monitoring case studies:

• Corus reduce Energy Wastage thanks to v belt slippage Monitoring System
• Yorkshire Water Utilise SensSystems v belt slippage Monitoring System In Pursuit Of Operating Excellence

Download the SENSSLIP® v belt monitoring system brochure for further information about the benefits of continuous v belt monitoring for the prevention of v belt slippage.

Further information about v belt slippage monitoring:

The SENSSLIP® range of v belt monitoring and v belt slippage prevention systems are designed and manufactured by SensSystems Ltd.

Please contact us for sales, technical and installation information regarding the continuous monitoring systems for v belt, or to discuss the benefits of v belt slippage monitoring in a specific industrial application.

Tel: +44(0) 1142 541241 or alternatively, Email: info@senssystems.com