1. Element definition

A toothed belt drive is made up of a set of components that form a mechanical system. At the very least, there are two pulleys, a belt and a support (figure 1 ). This system belongs to the group of preloaded systems, i.e. before performing the functions for which they have been defined, internal loads are introduced to enable the transmission of external mechanical power at a later date. For example, in figure 1 , the two pulleys and the belt are assembled and held in position by a support...