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Compliant belt and cable drives cannot approach perfect efficiency. Some friction loss in the form of belt/pulley slippage must be present. Thermodynamic principles may be applied to a simple control volume drawn around a belt or cable drive to show that there is a limit on efficiency. This maximum efficiency applies to all belt and cable drives. Chain/sprocket drives, though similar to belt and cable drives, may not be limited to this efficiency. Consequences of the analysis relevant to belt and cable transmission design are that: (1) multiple transmission stages degrade the total efficiency, and (2) it is best to maximize the cable or belt speed and stiffness per unit length for a given power transmitted.
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Townsend et al. (1988) studied this question.
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