Non‐material finite element rod model for the lateral run‐off in a two‐pulley belt drive

Abstract A novel mixed Eulerian‐Lagrangian rod finite element formulation based on the theory of unshearable, extensible rods is presented. Geometric imperfections (natural curvature) are introduced to investigate and predict the phenomenon of lateral run‐off in the benchmark problem of a two‐pulley belt drive. The concise description of normal and tangential contact between pulleys and belt contributes to the efficient computation of transient solutions. In resemblance of belt shear theory, it relies on the notion of a thin intermediate layer that connects the belt and the pulleys elastically. Various practically relevant transient solutions are validated against corresponding shell finite element computations available in the literature.