Power losses distribution in serpentine belt drive: Modelling and experiments

Abstract

Over the last years, significant research effort has been directed towards developing vehicle transmissions more energy efficient. This effort has been a direct consequence of the new environmental regulations encouraging truck and car manufacturers to reduce the power losses of their engines. For development purposes and in belt transmission design, it is worth predicting the power losses before manufacturing. For predicting the power losses in serpentine belt drive, theoretical models have been developed taking into consideration different types of energy loss taking place in a front engine accessory drive. These losses have several origins: from the poly-V belt or the mechanical components of the system (bearings, tensioners). The present paper reviews the state-of-the-art research on power losses modelling in a front engine accessory drive and focuses on internal and external losses of the belt. To construct a predictive power loss model, external losses such as belt–pulley slip and bearings friction are modelled and implemented in addition to our previous modelling of belt-hysteresis losses. Simulation results are compared with experiments on a specific test bench which has been designed to permit measuring the power losses for any kind of belt transmission layout. The experiment results permit highlighting some particular power losses as belt-hysteresis losses, pulley-belt slip losses and bearing losses. The comparisons between simulation and experimental results permit validating the developed models.