Influences of off-sized rollers on mechanical performance of spherical roller bearings

Abstract

Based on a set of formulae for calculating elliptical contact parameters and elastic deformation developed by Houpert and mechanical analysis, a numerical model is established for calculating the roller load distribution and shaft axis orbit of spherical roller bearings with considering off-sized rollers in this paper. A numerical calculation example is carried out to investigate the effects of single off-sized roller and multiple off-sized rollers on spherical roller bearing roller load distribution and axis orbit. Results show that the roller maximum load will increase as its off-sized diameter becomes larger than the nominal diameter, and the roller maximum load will decrease as its off-sized diameter is smaller than the nominal diameter. The maximum loads of the rollers in the two rows neighboring on the off-sized roller/rollers can also be affected. Meanwhile, roller diameter error will largely affect the axis orbit and inner ring radial displacement of spherical roller bearings.