A flat rubber belt wraps exactly halfway (180°) around a cylindrical drive pulley before running in a straight line to the next pulley in a factory machine. While the system is at rest, the length of belt in contact with the drive pulley is measured to be 0.94 m.
(a) Calculate the radius of the drive pulley.
(b) The drive pulley is replaced by another pulley whose radius is 12 % larger. Determine the new length of belt that will be in contact with the replacement pulley, still assuming a half-wrap.
(c) Briefly describe one practical reason an engineer might specify the belt-contact length when selecting or designing a pulley for a drive system.