Multi-ribbed serpentine belt is the core of the automotive accessory drive system, which distributes the engine power to other auxiliary systems of the car. Development of a belt life model is of a significant importance to the accessory drive system manufacturers, in order to prevent any premature failures of these belts. However, any numerical analysis on the belt life is heavily dependent on gaining an understanding of stress distribution in the belts under the operational loading conditions. The presented work demonstrates a new systematic approach for determining the hyperelastic material parameters of rubber with specific application in Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of serpentine accessory drive belts. This new approach can be used as a stand-alone tool by manufacturers to determine the stress distribution in the belt under operational conditions; the results of which can be applied to assess the life of accessory drive belts, in a relatively short time.

Multi-ribbed serpentine belt is the core of the automotive accessory drive system, which distributes the engine power to other auxiliary systems of the car. Development of a belt life model is of a significant importance to the accessory drive system manufacturers, in order to prevent any premature failures of these belts. However, any numerical analysis on the belt life is heavily dependent on gaining an understanding of stress distribution in the belts under the operational loading conditions. The presented work demonstrates a new systematic approach for determining the hyperelastic material parameters of rubber with specific application in Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of serpentine accessory drive belts. This new approach can be used as a stand-alone tool by manufacturers to determine the stress distribution in the belt under operational conditions; the results of which can be applied to assess the life of accessory drive belts, in a relatively short time.