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To cite this article: Daniel Nelias , Ioan Bercea & Viorel Paleu (2008) Prediction of Roller Skewing in Tapered Roller Bearings,
Tribology Transactions, 51:2, 128-139, DOI: 10.1080/10402000701730486
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Tribology Transactions, 51: 128-139, 2008
Copyright C Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers
The paper proposes a comprehensive model to predict the (8). The theoretical and experimental investigations by Hatazawa,
skew movement of a roller in tapered roller bearings. Numerical et al. (9-11) clarified the regimes of lubrication encountered in
solutions are given on a LM48548/LM48510 bearing. The effect TRB. An extension of these models to double row TRB was pro-
of the shaft speed, ring misalignment, and lubricant temperature posed by Bercea and co-workers (12-15), who studied in details
on the roller skew angle is presented and compared to the exper- the load distribution and the internal dissipation shared between
the rows or bearings in case of several bearings supporting a flex-
imental data available in the literature. The results indicate that
ible shaft. However, in all these models, the phenomenon of the
the skew angle depends rst on the misalignment angle between
roller skew was ignored.
the cup and the cone. The roller skew is also greatly inuenced
Meantime Gupta (16) proposed a dynamic model with 6 de-
by the traction at the roller-ange contact, the skew angle in- grees of freedom to simulate the dynamics of various types of
creasing with the traction at this contact, and by the geometry of rolling element bearings, later applied to TRB (17). It was shown
the roller end. that the skew movement of the roller was due to the unbalanced
moment about the x-axis. This unbalanced moment may be caused
KEY WORDS by one of many physical conditions, including imperfect geome-
Tapered Roller Bearing; Skewing; Skew Angle try, variation of the surface finish, or of the contact forces along
the length of the roller. In addition to the tangential forces at
the roller/raceway interface, the friction at the flange/roller end
INTRODUCTION
contact also produces a skew moment, which may become signif-
The prediction of the roller skew angle in roller bearings is icant. In (17) Gupta assumed that the coefficients of friction at
of prime interest for bearing designers. The present work con- the roller-race and roller-flange interfaces were identical and he
cerns tapered roller bearings (TRB), which are widely used for found that the skew angle did not exceed 0.06 deg. for the specific
heavy axially and radially loaded applications. Increasingly com- application studied. The effect of the geometrical discrepancy on
plex models have been proposed since the 1970s, starting from the the friction losses and the effect of roller skew on the pressure
pioneering work of Andreason (1) and Witte (2) in 1973. They distribution were investigated by Raczynski (18). In his model the
both proposed a quasi-static model for low speed applications i.e. coefficient of friction was assumed to be independent of the slid-
in which the centrifugal force and the gyroscopic torque acting on ing rate, and he found a skew angle ranging from 0.01 to 0.04 deg.
each roller were neglected. This model was improved by Liu (3) More recently, Yang, et al. (19-21) have successfully measured
in 1976 by including, for each rolling element, the centrifugal load the roller skew angle by detecting the location of both ends of
and gyroscopic torque. A more general model based on a matrix the roller using contact potential difference (CPD) probes. They
approach was later proposed by De Mul, et al. (4). The presence measured skew angle between 0.15 and 0.6 deg., depending on
of an elastohydrodynamic lubricant (EHL) film at the contacts the load, the speed, and the lubricant viscosity or temperature. It
between roller and rings and the effects on the running torque, was assumed that the main parameter governing the skew move-
load distribution or EHL film thickness was considered by Aihara ment is the friction coefficient between the flange and the roller
(5), Zhou and Hoeprich (6), Cretu, et al. (7), and Yamashita, et al. end.
The objective of this investigation was to develop a comprehen-
Presented at the 61st STLE Annual Meeting in Calgary, Canada sive model to predict the roller skew angle in tapered roller bear-
May 7-11, 2006 ings. The traction at the flange-roller end contact and the variation
Manuscript received November 15, 2006
Final manuscript approved October 2, 2007 of the tangential forces along the roller axis will be carefully con-
Review led by Mike Hoeprich sidered, and the numerical results compared to the experimental
128
Skew Movement in Tapered Roller Bearings 129
ones of Yang, et al. The effects of the roller-end geometry and of due to the unbalanced moment around the x axis (Fig. 1) and
the misalignment between the rings will also be analyzed. is the angle that the lines of Msi , Mso make with the radial line.
This unbalanced moment may be caused by one or many physi-
Problem Formulation cal factors, such as friction force between the roller end and the
Consider a lubricated tapered roller bearing with its outer ring flange, variation of contact forces along the roller length, variation
rigidly mounted in a supporting housing. of surface finish along the roller length, and imperfect geometry.
The last two conditions are largely random in nature and will not
Roller Skew Angle be considered here. This analysis will be focused on the friction at
It will be assumed that each taper roller is in a steady-state the roller end-flange contact and variation of contact forces as the
motion. This motion consists of a rotation about its own axis, a mechanism for generating the skew angle. Finally the effect of the
revolution around the bearing axis, and a skew rotation around ring misalignment will be investigated.
the instantaneous axis of skew.
The rotational velocities may vary from one roller to another. Reference Systems
Therefore as a taper roller revolves around the circumference it For the analysis, the following reference systems are consid-
experiences a change in rotational velocities. The forces accompa- ered. The reference system (X, Y, Z) is fixed to the bearing outer
nying this change are ignored. The model presented here is, there- ring that is assumed to be stationary. The Z-axis is along the ge-
fore, for the steady-state motion of the rollers. The skew motion is ometrical axis of the ring, see Fig. 2. The origin of the inertial
130 D. NELIAS ET AL.
ing centerline and the line that is perpendicular to the outer ring 1. The inner ring rotates with the shaft at a constant angular ve-
raceway and bisects the inner ring raceway. locity while the outer ring is stationary.
Another coordinate system (x, y, z) is introduced for each roller 2. The bearing is under a static external load.
location, having the origin at the center of the big end of the roller, 3. Under external load, only the bearing inner ring can be dis-
the x-axis perpendicular to the roller centerline, the y-axis in the placed; the outer ring is considered fixed in space.
tangential plane, and the z-axis along the roller centerline. The 4. Excepting the local contact zones, the elastic deformation of
angular position of a roller in the system (X, Y, Z) is denoted by . the bearing rings is neglected.
5. The pressure distribution at the roller/raceway and roller/
Variables flange contacts is given by the Hertz theory.
While the bearing is under the action of the load vector F = 6. After some time of running, the bearing components and lu-
{Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My}T , the 5 degrees-of-freedom result in the 3 bricant achieve the same temperature.
translations x , y , and z and 2 rotation angles x and y of the
inner ring. At each conjunction the normal contact loads generate
frictional forces and moments. Rollers response to a particular set Geometrical Relationships
of bearing operating conditions is defined in terms of 4 degrees- The main design parameters of a tapered roller bearing are
of-freedom relatively from their initial positions, i.e. 2 translations described in Fig. 3, i.e. the large roller diameter (Dw), the nominal
roller length (L), the sphere radius of roller end (Rs), the semi-
cone angles of outer and inner raceways ( and , respectively),
the semi-cone angle of roller (), and the inner ring flange angle
().
The conical raceway surfaces of the cone, cup, and roller have
a common apex at point O. The position of the flange/roller end
Fig. 4Schematic diagram showing interference at the roller/outer raceway due to the roller skew.
contact is located by the distance h. the inner ring/roller, outer ring/roller, and roller end/flange con-
D tacts, respectively. The subscript w refers to a point of the roller
h= Rs sin( ) [1] surface.
2
r Initial position vectors
Slice Position Angle
Figure 4 presents schematically the angular position of the dif- The following vectors that define the initial position of the
ferent roller slices for a skewed roller. The geometrical center of contact points on the raceways and flange are expressed in the (X,
the roller slice that contains the xskew -instantaneous axis of skew- Y, Z)-inertial frame.
ing is noted Oskew . The geometrical centers of the first (at z = 0) and
(a) For inner ring raceway
last (at z = L) slices are noted O0 and OL , respectively. In the (x, y,
z)-roller coordinate system the roller skew angle x produces for rix
each slice an angular shift from the central slice which varies ri (, z) =
riy
linearly with the distance between the slice center and the roller riz
center:
x (z zskew ) (Rw z sin w cos ) cos( )
(z) = [2]
Rm z sin =
(Rw z sin w cos ) sin( ) [4a]
The position angle of the roller end-flange contact is given by: e + z w sin
(Rw Rs cos sin + Rs sin ) cos( f ) (d) For roller to inner ring raceway
=
(Rw Rs cos sin + Rs sin ) sin( f ) [4c] ux 0 0 y
e + Rs cos cos Rs cos wi = wi +
0 + 0 0 x
[5d]
uz y x 0
where represents the angular extent of the spherical roller end:
wix w + ux + z y
Dm wi =
wiy =
z x [5e]
= sin1
2Rs
wiz z + uz + w y
The initial position vectors of the roller surface points are ex-
(e) For roller to outer ring raceway
pressed in the (x, y, z)-roller coordinate system as follow:
w + ux + z y
(d) For roller to inner ring raceway wox
z x
wix w wo =
woy = [5f]
z + uz w y
wi (z) = woz
wiy = 0 [4d]
wiz
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z
(f) For roller to flange ring raceway
(e) For roller to outer ring raceway
wfx wfx + ux + wfz y
wox w
wf =
wfy =
wfz x
[5g]
wo (z) = woy = 0
[4e]
wfz wfz + uz wfx y
woz z
In the (X, Y, Z)-inertial coordinate system the final position vec-
(f) For roller to inner ring flange tors of the roller surface points, i.e. rw,i,o,f , are found by the fol-
lowing transformation:
wfx Rs sin( )
wf =
wfy = 0
[4f] rw,i,o,f = rb + A w,i,o,f [6]
wfz Rs (cos cos( )) where rb is the position vector of the (x, y, z)-roller frame with
r Final position vectors respect to the (X, Y, Z)-inertial frame and A represents the matrix
transformation from the (x, y, z)-frame to the (X, Y, Z)-frame.
In the (X, Y, Z)-inertial coordinate system the final position
vectors of the surface points on the raceways and flange are: Rw cos
rb =
Rw sin , and
(a) For inner ring raceway
e
rix x 0 0 y
cos cos sin sin cos
ri =
riy = ri + y + 0 0 y
A= cos sin cos sin sin
riz z y x 0
sin 0 cos
rix + x + riz y
Contact Deformations and Loads . The elastic deforma-
ri = riy + y riz x
[5a]
tion achieved at the line contact, as well as the one at the roller
riz + z rix y + riy x end-flange contact, are obtained by projection on the unit vector
(normal to contacting surfaces) of the difference between the cor-
The transformation matrix in Eq. [5a] was deduced using the
responding final position vectors of coincident roller and raceway
small angle approximation.
points.
(b) For outer ring raceway
i (, z) = (ri rw,i ) ni [7a]
ro = ro [5b]
o (, z) = (rw,o ro ) no [7b]
since the outer ring is considered fixed in space.
(c) For inner ring flange f () = (rf rw,f ) nf [7c]
rfx rfx + x + rfz y where ni,o,f represents the unit vectors lying on the inner, outer
rf =
rfy = rfy + y rfiz x
[5c] and flange raceways, respectively.
rfz rfz + z rfx y + rfy x cos cos( )
In the (x, y, z)-roller coordinate system the final position vec- ni =
cos sin( )
[8a]
tors of the roller surface points are defined by: sin
Skew Movement in Tapered Roller Bearings 133
cos cos( ) Forces and Moments of Friction Acting
on Rolling Elements
no =
cos sin( )
[8b]
The resultant forces and moments acting on a taper roller are
sin
presented in Fig. 5.
sin cos( f )
RollerRaceway Contacts
nf =
sin sin( f ) [8c]
Each roller is divided into n slices of width L = La/n. The
cos forces and moments (see Fig. 5) acting on each slice are the
The roller-raceway and roller-flange contacts are assumed following: hydrodynamic fluid pressure forces (fp), rolling forces
Hertzian. The load distribution along the roller/raceway contact (fr), sliding forces (fs), drag force (fd) and drag moment (md). The
is obtained by the slicing technique. The relationship between the unknowns are the viscous friction forces fs which are determined
normal load and the elastic deflection at the roller/raceway con- from the force and moment equilibrium, momentarily neglecting
tacts is given by: the roller end/flange contact (Zhou and Hoeprich (6), Houpert
(22)), as follows:
s
Qi,o = qi,o L [9] 1 mri + mro + md fd
k=1
fsi = fri (fpi fpo ) + + [13a]
2 D 2
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where L is the slice length and q is the contact load on a single 1 mri + mro + md fd
fso = fro + (fpi fpo ) + [13b]
slice given by: 2 D 2
Ki,o 10/9 The forces and moments that appear in Eqs. [13a and b] are
qi,o = [10] calculated on each roller slice as presented below.
La i,o
where K is the load deflection factor for line contact, i.e. Ki = r Fluid pressure forces
8/9
Ko = 7.86 104 La for bearing steel.
Fluid pressure forces, fp, tending to translate each roller slice
The roller/flange contact load is calculated from Eq. [11].
relative to the raceways are calculated according to Harris and
3/2
Qf = Kf f [11] Mindel (23):
where Kf represents the load deflection factor for point contact, fpi.o = 18.4 (1 i.o ) G0.3 U0.7 /
i.o L E Ri.o [14]
3/2 1/2
for bearing steel Kf = 2.154 105 f where is a
where is the ratio of the roller diameter to the bearing pitch
coefficient dependent on contact geometry and f is the curvature
diameter.
sum. When the length of contact ellipse (2a) is greater than the
length of the contact (Lf ), then the roller/flange contact is treated r Rolling friction forces
as linear.
The rolling friction forces, fr, are calculated according to
The moments due to the normal load distribution are calcu-
Houpert (24):
lated with respect to the roller center of gravity.
/
fri.o = 0.04 U0.44
i.o Wi.o L E Ri.o
0.37
[15]
La
Ti.o = qi [(zc z) cos + w sin ] dz [12] r Viscous drag force
0
where zc is the abscissa of the roller center of gravity given in the The viscous drag force, fd, is estimated by the following equation
(x, y, z)-roller coordinate system. proposed by Harris and Mindel (23):
cylindrical surface area of the disk, and D is the diameter of the = = 2 sin(x ) sign(x ) [23]
disk. In addition to the fluid drag acting on the cylindrical surfaces,
1
2
w ri.o
the roller ends were considered as an additional source of drag. It follows that the axial traction coefficient is:
r Elastic rolling resistances z = min(2 B sin(x ), z max ) [24]
The elastic rolling resistances at the raceway-roller slice con- where z max represents the maximum value of the traction co-
tact, mr, are calculated according to Aihara (5). efficient (asymptotic value) and B represents the traction slope.
Consequently the thrust force acting on a roller, see Fig. 5, is given
1.76 102 1 by:
mri.o = (GUi.o )0.658 W0.31 R2i.o L [18]
1 + 0.29L0.78
i.o
p
Fti.o = Qi.o min(2 B sin(x ), z max ) [25]
r Resultant of the viscous friction forces
The result of the viscous friction forces, Fs, at the roller/raceway For a given set of operating condition, Eq. [25] shows that the
contacts are determined by summing the contribution of each slice: thrust frictional force is proportional to the skew angle. This is in
good agreement with the analysis of Oh (26) who found the same
Fsi.o = fsi.o [19]
trend for a needle bearing.
It is assumed that the abscissa of the resultant friction force, ex-
pressed in the coordinate frame (x,y,z) linked to the roller, coincide Roller EndFlange Contacts
with the center of pressure, i.e.: It is possible to achieve a better control of the roller and to
minimize the roller skew by optimizing the geometry of the contact
qi.o L z
zi.o = [20] between the roller spherical end and the flange. Lubrication of
Qi.o
the roller-flange contact is also a critical point which may not only
r Skewing moments influence the skew movement but also affect the bearing life.
The skewing moments, Msi and Mso , result from the asymmetric r Friction force
distribution of friction force at the roller/raceway contact.
The following assumptions are made:
Msi.o = (z zi.o ) fsi.o sign(x ) [21]
1. The lubricant viscosity is expressed by a Barus law:
r Restoring moments
= o exp(p p) [26]
The roller skew is resisted by the restoring moments provided by
the shifted normal load at each slice of the roller-raceway con-
tact, see Fig. 4. For example, when the roller is skewed, the normal 2. The lubricant film thickness is computed by the Hamrock and
forces at the roller-outer raceway contact increase and the tangen- Dowson formula (27), which is written as:
tial components of these forces tend to restore the roller to the
hof = 3.61U0.68 G0.53 W0.063 [1 0.61 exp 0.751k0.64
f ]Rf
initial position. A point of equilibrium will be reached when the
[27]
skewing moment equals the reaction or restoring moment due to
3. The relation between the shear rate and the shear stress is
the curvatures of the contacting surfaces. These restoring moments
described by the Ree-Eyring model:
are given by:
o f
Mqi.o = qi.o L (z zskew ) sin((z)) sign(x ) [22] f = sinh [28]
o
Skew Movement in Tapered Roller Bearings 135
in which the representative stress o is assumed to be uniform Quasi-Static Equilibrium of a Single Roller
within the contact. The shear stress distribution in the Herztian r The summation of the forces along the x-axis of the roller
conjunction can be deduced: frame:
1 f o
f = o sinh exp(p pmax .f 1 rf )
2
[29]
o (Qi Qo ) cos + Qf sin( ) + (Qi + Qo )
with r the non-dimensional radius from the center of the ellip- z sin sign(x ) + Fc cos = 0 [35a]
tical contact, i.e. rf = ( xa )2 + ( by )2 . r Summation of forces along the z-axis of the roller frame:
The average shear stress can be obtained by integrating Eq. [29] (Qi + Qo ) sin + Qf cos( ) + (Qi Qo )
over the elliptical contact area. The average friction coefficient
f can be obtained by dividing the average shear stress f by the cos sign(x ) Fc sin = 0 [35b]
average contact pressure pf : r Summation of moments around the y-axis passing through the
roller center of gravity:
2 o 1
f o
f = sinh1 exp(p pmax .f 1 r2f ) 2 r dr
pf 0 o (To Ti ) + Qf (Rs cos zc ) sin( )
[30]
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Subsequently the friction force at the flange-roller end contact can + (Qi ri + Qo ro ) cos sign(x ) z Mg = 0 [35c]
be written as: r Summation of the moments around the skew axis of the
Ff = Qf f [31] roller:
r Blocking Moment (Msi Mso ) cos + (Mqi + Mqo ) cos + (Fsi (zi zskew )
The centrifugal force is expressed as: Fx = [(Qo cos Fto sin ) cos + Fso sin ]
j
Fc = Rg c2 m [33] 2
Z
= [(Qo cos Fto sin ) cos + Fso sin ] d
where Rg is the radius from the roller center of gravity to the 2 0
Mc = Jz c w sin( ) [34]
TABLE 1SPECIFICATIONS OF TAPERED ROLLER BEARING LM48548/ TABLE 2LUBRICANT PARAMETERS (SHELL TURBO 33)
LM48510
Viscosity at atmospheric pressure o = 0.084 Pas
Roller large end diameter Dw = 7.506 mm
Eyring stress o = 4.36106 Pa
Roller axial length Lw = 12.61mm Pressure-viscosity coefficient p = 1.97108 Pa1
Radius of roller end sphere Rs = 104 mm Viscosity = o (p 4.76 102
Crown radius of roller R = 2680 mm (T 30 C))Pa.s
Cup raceway half angle = 14.083 deg Thermal conductivity kt = 0.12 W/m.K
Cone raceway half angle = 10.583 deg Temperature-viscosity coefficient f = 0.047 K1
Flange opening angle = 11.033 deg
Number of rollers Z = 19
Youngs modulus E = 2.11011 Pa r Summation of the moments around the Y-axis of the inertial
Poisson ratio = 0.30
frame:
2 La
Z
My = qo (rox sin + roz cos cos ) dx d
r Summation of forces along the Y-axis of the inertial frame:
2 0 0
2
Z
Fy = [(Qo cos Fto sin ) sin Fso cos ] + Fty(rox sin roz sin sin )d
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2 0
j
2
Z
Z 2 + (Fso roz Mo ) sin d [36e]
= [(Qo cos Fto sin ) sin Fso cos ]d 2 0
2 0
where Mo is the resulting moment on the outer raceway which
[36b] includes the skewing moment Mso and the restoring moment Mqo .
r Summation of forces along the Z-axis of the inertial frame:
The set of non-linear equations [35-36] is solved numerically by
the Newton-Raphson iterative scheme.
Fig. 8Skew angle vs. shaft speed for different axial loads.
Fig. 10Skew angle vs. roller position for different radial loads.
numerical analysis.
The roller-rib lubrication regime corresponding to results given
Figure 7 shows the effect of the shaft speed upon the roller skew
in Figs. 8-11 was found to be elastohydrodynamic. It should be re-
angle for three thrust loads: 10, 15, and 20 kN, with a lubricant at
called that the roller end/flange contact is assumed here to be in
room temperature (22 C). An increase of the skew angle both with
fully flooded EHL regime, i.e. without starvation, thus the rib fric-
the shaft speed and with the load is observed. A maximum skew
tion always increases with speed and film thickness. At a lower
angle of 0.5 deg. is found. The increase of the roller skew with the
thrust load when this contact is operating in the hydrodynamic
thrust load could be attributed to the subsequent increase of the
regime a different behavior could be probably observed. At low
traction coefficient at the roller end / flange interface which oper-
rotational speed some metallic contacts between asperities may
ates under the EHL regime, hence increasing the skewing torque
also occur. In the papers by Yang, et al. (19-21) the roller/rib con-
more quickly than other internal forces and moments within the
junction was often starved and in boundary lubrication, maybe
bearing. Figure 9 shows the effect of the lubricant temperature on
also with the rib ellipse truncation and consequently higher roller
the roller skew for a thrust load of 15 kN. It is found that the skew
end friction. These issues are not addressed in the present study
angle decreases when the temperature increases; in other words
but should be of the first order of importance in the prediction
the skew angle increases with the lubricant viscosity. It should be
of the roller skew since they do significantly affect the traction
mentioned that the numerical results presented in Figs. 8 and 9 are
coefficient.
qualitatively very similar to the experimental data by Yang, et al.
The geometry of the roller end is a key parameter of the TRB
(19-21).
design. A roller end with a spherical shape is a good solution
Figure 10 shows the distribution of the skew angle among the
to control the location of the contact point with the flange, i.e.
rollers in presence of a radial load of 0, 0.5, 1, and 4 kN applied
both for controlling the skew angle and the sliding speed, and to
in the direction of roller #1. The dashed line corresponds to a
distribute the load on a given contact area. Figure 12 presents
purely axial load, resulting in a uniform skew angle of 0.3 deg.
the geometry of this contact for different sphere radius, Rs, nor-
The axial load, the lubricant temperature, and the shaft speed
malized by the distance between the bearing apex and the roller
are kept constant at 15 kN, 40 C, and 2500 rpm, respectively. An
end, Lg (see Fig. 3). Figure 12a corresponds to a small sphere ra-
increase of the skew angle in the loaded zone is observed, whereas
dius (Rs Lg), leading to a contact area with a small ellipticity
this angle decreases in the unloaded zone. Looking at the load
distribution within the bearing it was found that the skew angle is
strongly linked to the normal load at the roller end-flange contact.
Fig. 9Skew angle vs. shaft speed for different lubricant temperatures. Fig. 11Roller end-flange contact load vs. roller position.
138 D. NELIAS ET AL.
Fig. 12Shape of the contact area at the roller end-flange contact depending on the radius Rs of the roller spherical end.
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ratio. Such design helps the formation of a lubricant film at the The misalignment between the rings is sometimes assumed to
inlet of the point contact. The side effect is that the contact pres- be one of the root causes of skewing. Figure 14 presents the ef-
sure may become relatively high for heavily thrust loaded bear- fect of a misalignment y on the skew angle for the most loaded
ings. Figure 12c where Rs = Lg reflects an optimum solution in roller. Two shaft speeds are considered, 1,000 and 2,500 rpm
terms of the load distribution since it leads to a conformal con- in Figs. 14a and b, respectively, as well as three lubricant tem-
tact along the direction of the entrainment speed. However, this peratures. It should be noted that the maximum angle of mis-
design does not favor the formation of the lubricant film con- alignment of 0.5 deg results in a torque of 190 Nm. A very
versely to the situation of Fig. 12a. A compromise is illustrated significant increase of the maximum skew angle with the ring
by Fig. 12b, with a sphere radius Rs lower than Lg but not too misalignment is found, up to 1.75 deg at 2,500 rpm at room
small. temperature.
Figure 13 presents the effect of the local geometry at the roller
end-flange contact when changing the sphere radius, i.e. the Rs/Lg
ratio. It is found that the skew angle tends to 0 when the contact
geometry becomes linear (i.e. Rs = Lg). A sharp increase of the
skew angle when decreasing the sphere radius is also observed, up
to 1.8 degree at 2,000 rpm when Rs/Lg = 0.6. As discussed earlier
it is also well known that an increase in the Rs/Lg ratio will also
affect the lubricant film formation in the inlet zone leading to a
decrease of the film thickness. It can be concluded that, even if the
skew angle may be easily controlled by optimizing the geometry
of the roller end, a compromise between the skew control and the
film forming should be carefully chosen.
CONCLUSION (10) Hatazawa, T., Kagami, J. and Kawaguchi, T. (1996), Friction Characteris-
tics of Tapered Roller BearingsPart 2: Theoretical Analysis in Hydrody-
An analytical approach was proposed to determine the skew namic Lubrication, Journal of Japanese Society of Tribologists, 41, 8, pp
angle in the tapered roller bearing. The analysis is based on a 679-685.
quasi-static bearing equilibrium model. The results were first qual- (11) Hatazawa, T., Kagami, J., Kawaguchi, T. and Yamada, K. (1996), Friction
Characteristics of Tapered Roller BearingsPart 3: Theoretical Analysis
itatively compared to experimental data available in the literature in Elastohydrodynamic and Boundary Lubrication, Journal of Japanese
and a quite good agreement was found. The effect of operating Society of Tribologists, 41, 9, pp 781-787.
conditions was first investigated. It is found first that the skew an- (12) Bercea, I., Nelias, D. and Cretu S. (2003), Analysis of Double-Row Tapered
Roller Bearings, Part IModel, Tribology Transactions, 46, 2, pp 228-
gle increases with the lubricant viscosity, the shaft speed, and the 239.
axial load. The skew angle distribution among the rollers in case (13) Nelias, D., Bercea, I. and Mitu, N. (2003), Analysis of Double-Row Ta-
of a combined axial and radial loading was correlated with the pered Roller Bearings, Part IIResults: Prediction of Fatigue Life and
Heat Dissipation, Tribology Transactions, 46, 2, pp 240-247.
normal load at the roller end-flange contact. Assuming a spher- (14) Bercea, I., Nelias, D. and Cavallaro G. (2003), A Unified and Simplified
ical shape of the roller end it was also concluded that this local Treatment of the Nonlinear Equilibrium Problem of Double-Row Rolling
geometry plays a significant role in the skew control. However, a BearingsPart 1: Rolling Bearing Model, Proc Instn Mech Engrs, Journal
of Engineering Tribology, Part J, 217, 3, pp 205-212.
compromise between the skew control and the film forming should (15) Nelias, D. and Bercea, I. (2003), A Unified and Simplified Treatment of the
be carefully chosen since what is optimum for skew control is not Nonlinear Equilibrium Problem of Double-Row Rolling BearingsPart 2:
optimum for the film thickness at the roller end-flange contact and Applications to Taper Rolling Bearings Supporting a Flexible Shaft, Proc
Instn Mech Engrs, Journal of Engineering Tribology, Part J, 217, 3, pp 213-
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vice-versa. Finally it was shown that the misalignment between the 221.
rings also plays a very significant role for the skew movement. Such (16) Gupta, P.K. (1984), Advanced Dynamics of Rolling Elements, Springer-
a model or methodology could be applied to optimize the internal Verlag New York.
(17) Gupta, P. K. (1989), On the Dynamic of a Tapered Roller Bearing, ASME
geometry of a tapered roller bearing. Journal of Tribology, 111, 2, pp 278-287.
The first point to look at in order to improve the model is the rib (18) Raczynski, A. (1992), Effect of Working Surface Shape on Power Loss in
contact. An extension to the boundary lubrication and the hydro- Taper Roller Bearings, Wear, 152, 1, pp 33-47.
(19) Yang, Y., Danyluk, S. and Hoeprich, M. (1999), On the Measurement
dynamic regime also considering starvation and possible roller end of Skew of Tapered Roller Bearings, Tribology Letters, 6, 3-4, pp 221-
ellipse truncation would probably permit, with the model, to cover 223.
a wider range of operating conditions and bearing geometries. (20) Yang, Y., Danyluk, S. and Hoeprich, M. (2000), Rolling Element Skew in
Tapered Roller Bearing, Tribology Transactions, 43, 3, pp 564-568.
(21) Yang, Y., Danyluk, S. and Hoeprich, M. (2000), A Study on Rolling El-
ement Skew Measurement in a Tapered roller Bearing with a Specialized
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