Measurement techniques for the acoustic analysis of synchronous belts

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Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd
, , Citation R Di Sante et al 2000 Meas. Sci. Technol. 11 1463 DOI 10.1088/0957-0233/11/10/307

0957-0233/11/10/1463

Abstract

At present, in the automotive field, the noise generated by belt drives is evaluated by using microphones in the proximity of the belt, crankshafts, idlers and so on. Such a method can be misleading, since it may easily include the contributions of other noise sources present during the measurement. Moreover, a large amount of data is needed in order to test various layouts and various running conditions. We present a method for the analysis and prediction of the noise generated by belt drives which consists of two distinct phases in this paper. For simplicity, a two-pulley belt drive has been considered and the results have been validated at the meshing frequency, at which, as has been shown in the existing literature, the phenomenon of noise generation is mainly concentrated.

In the first stage of the work, the acoustic power generation of the belt drive being tested was measured by means of acoustic intensity techniques. Subsequently, an acoustic prediction was performed by using vibration data obtained with a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (SLDV) as inputs for a boundary element code. The SLDV was used because of its capability of measuring in-operation data on the running belt, which would not have been possible using traditional contact sensors (accelerometers and so on).

The results obtained in the two phases were finally compared in order to evaluate the relation between the vibratory behaviour and the total acoustic radiation determined experimentally. The experimental and numerical data agree fairly well, adding precious information on the noise generation mechanisms and showing the feasibility of modelling the vibro-acoustic behaviour of belt drives and the possibility of a totally numerical procedure. In particular the implementation of an entirely numerical procedure using, for example, data generated through the use of codes for the dynamic characterization of mechanical systems (multi-body mechanical models and so on) seems foreseeable. In the final section of the present work, the uncertainty arising from the measurement processes of the investigation method presented is also discussed.

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10.1088/0957-0233/11/10/307