Abstract
V-belts in combine harvesters are prone to burnout failures under high-load continuous operations, compromising transmission reliability. However, the underlying thermomechanical coupling mechanisms remain poorly understood. To address this limitation, this study presents a dynamic energy dissipation model that decouples multiple heat generation mechanisms—bending hysteresis, compressive deformation, tensile strain, and external sliding friction—in V-belt drives. Finite element analysis is used to characterize the spatiotemporal loading behavior of internal friction sources, and energy dissipation quantification methods are developed based on viscoelastic theory and Coulomb friction law. A steady-state heat transfer framework is established, and critical thermal boundary parameters are identified through inverse modeling. The integrated thermomechanical model is validated by comparing simulated surface temperature fields with experimental data obtained from a custom-built test rig. The results show that predicted steady-state temperatures are marginally overestimated, with relative errors below 5%, exhibiting clear dependence on driving pulley speed and driven pulley load. The analysis reveals that high-speed operation intensifies internal hysteresis heating, whereas high-load conditions amplify external friction losses—synergistically leading to elevated thermal stress and increased burnout risk. Thus, the study elucidates the failure mechanisms under combined dynamic loads, enabling physics-driven design optimization and predictive maintenance for agricultural machinery powertrains.