Loss of strain energy in metal belt for continuously variable transmission (CVT) pulley

Pulley SENE (Strain energy) losses affect the transmission efficiency of metal belt continuously variable transmissions. The present research focuses on analysis of the SENE power loss. Mechanical and deformation models of the pulley have been developed. The pulley stress, strain and SENE analyses were performed using finite element method software. The results indicate that with an increase in the transmission ratio, the SENE of the driving pulley decreases, while that of the driven pulley increases, and the SENE-induced total power loss increases after initially decreasing; the minimum and maximum pulley SENE total power losses are 43.92 and 240.69 W respectively. The pulley working radius was also found to have a major impact on the stress, strain and SENE. Our conclusion that the SENE power loss is at a minimum when the transmission ratio is 1 is consistent with the real behavior of these pulleys.