Comparison of performance between tapered and cylindrical roller bearings for pinion of gear unit subjected to rotation test

Abstract

Tapered roller bearings are often used to support pinions in gear units of electric trains. On the other hand, recently, the application of cylindrical roller bearings with ribs has also been proposed, in which the internal clearance changes little depending on the operating conditions. This study aims to elucidate the effect of differences in just these two types of pinion bearings on the performance of gear units and thereby verify the applicability of cylindrical roller bearings with ribs to railway gear units. Tapered roller bearings and cylindrical roller bearings with ribs of the same dimensions were subjected to rotational tests in the same gear unit. The results showed that the effects of the atmospheric temperature on the maximum temperature, the maximum rate of temperature rise, and the torque of the bearings were not significantly different between the tapered roller bearings and the cylindrical roller bearings with ribs. As the atmospheric temperature decreases, the maximum temperature decreases, and the maximum rate of temperature rise and the torque increase. On the other hand, the endplay values had a significant effect on these values in the tapered roller bearings, while they had little effect on the cylindrical roller bearings with ribs.