Question

The creep in a belt drive is due to the

(a) material of the pulleys

(b) material of the belt

(c) unequal size of the pulleys

(d) unequal tension in tight and slack sides of the belt

I have been asked this question at a job interview.

This question is from V-Belts in section Belt, Rope and Chain Drives of Machine Kinematics

Answer 1

Right choice is (d) unequal tension in tight and slack sides of the belt

Easy explanation: The belt always has an initial tension when installed over the pulleys. This initial tension is same throughout the belt length when there is no motion. During rotation of the drive, tight side tension is higher than the initial tension and slack side tension is lower than the initial tension.