Theoretical Study on the Influence of Planet Gear Rim Thickness and Bearing Clearance on Calculated Bearing Life

2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Fingerle ◽  
Jonas Hochrein ◽  
Michael Otto ◽  
Karsten Stahl

Abstract Planetary gearboxes are becoming more popular due to their high-power density and potentially high efficiency. When the planet bearings are internally mounted, the body of the planet gear has to be hollow. The demand for large outer diameters due to high-load requirements might result in a small planet rim thickness. Depending on the rim thickness, its rigidity may become very low. Due to the low stiffness and the special load conditions caused by the double meshing, the deformation of the planet and its bearings are unique. In this paper, the influence of rim thickness on bearing load and lifetime is examined. The analysis is performed with a finite element method (FEM) model of a planet rim with a built-in cylindrical roller bearing. With the resulting planet deformation from the FEM calculation, the load distribution on the rolling elements in the bearing and the bearing lifetime according to ISO/TS 16281:2008 has been evaluated.

Author(s):  
Andreas Fingerle ◽  
Jonas Hochrein ◽  
Michael Otto ◽  
Karsten Stahl

Abstract Planetary gearboxes are becoming more popular due to their high power density and potentially high efficiency. When the planet bearings are internally mounted, the body of the planet gear has to be hollow. The demand for large outer diameters due to high load requirements might result in a small planet rim thickness. Depending on the rim thickness, its rigidity may become very low. Due to the low stiffness and the special load conditions caused by the double meshing, the deformation of the planet and its bearings are unique. In this paper, the influence of rim thickness on bearing load and lifetime are examined. The analysis is performed with an FEM model of a planet rim with a built-in cylindrical roller bearing. With the resulting planet deformation from the FEM calculation, the load distribution on the rolling elements in the bearing and the bearing lifetime according to ISO/TS 16281:2008 have been evaluated.


Author(s):  
W. Chen ◽  
R. Mills ◽  
R. S. Dwyer-Joyce

The load applied by each rolling element on a bearing raceway controls friction, wear and service life. It is possible to infer bearing load from load cells or strain gauges on the shaft or bearing housing. However, this is not always simply and uniquely related to the real load transmitted by rolling elements directly to the raceway. Firstly, the load sharing between rolling elements in the raceway is statically indeterminate, and secondly, in a machine with non-steady loading, the load path is complex and highly transient being subject to the dynamic behaviour of the transmission system. This study describes a method to measure the load transmitted directly by a rolling element to the raceway by using the time of flight (ToF) of a reflected ultrasonic pulse. A piezoelectric sensor was permanently bonded onto the bore surface of the inner raceway of a cylindrical roller bearing. The ToF of an ultrasonic pulse from the sensor to the roller–raceway contact was measured. This ToF depends on the speed of the wave and the thickness of the raceway. The speed of an ultrasonic wave changes with the state of the stress, known as the acoustoelastic effect. The thickness of the material varies when deflection occurs as the contacting surfaces are subjected to load. In addition, the contact stiffness changes the phase of the reflected signal and in simple peak-to-peak measurement, this appears as a change in the ToF. In this work, the Hilbert transform was used to remove this contact dependent phase shift. Experiments have been performed on both a model line contact and a single row cylindrical roller bearing from the planet gear of a wind turbine epicyclic gearbox. The change in ToF under different bearing loads was recorded and used to determine the deflection of the raceway. This was then related to the bearing load using a simple elastic contact model. Measured load from the ultrasonic reflection was compared with the applied bearing load with good agreement. The technique shows promise as an effective method for load monitoring in real-world bearing applications.


1973 ◽  
Vol 187 (1) ◽  
pp. 763-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Taylor

Normally cylindrical roller bearings are employed to transmit purely radial loads. However, depending upon the configuration of lips or flanges on the rings, it is sometimes possible to carry an axial load. In certain applications, an axial load capability is essential. A significant feature in determining the performance of a cylindrical roller bearing under axial loading is the lubrication conditions existing between the lips and rolling elements. The paper describes a study of such conditions. The long-term aim of the work is to provide a basis for the design of cylindrical roller bearings to carry axial loads.


1970 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Skurka

Roller bearing endurance tests have been run on groups of bearings with L10 and L50 lives established by Weibull analysis. Bearing roller path surface finish, shaft speed, lubricant viscosity and lubricant temperature were varied. Relevant tapered roller and cylindrical roller bearing life data was selected from prior tests for comparison. Weibull plots show the effect of the variables on life and a graph comparing the ratio of L10 test life to the calculated life and the ratio of elastohydrodynamic lubricant film thickness to composite rolling contact surface finish is given. An empirical equation to predict the effect of varying lubricant and surface finish conditions on fatigue life is given.


1980 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. L. Bowen ◽  
C. P. Bhateja

The paper deals with the unique functional characteristics that the use of hollow rolling elements induce in a radial type cylindrical roller bearing. The ability to consistently and successfully preload these hollow rollers between the inner and the outer races together with, of course, the necessary but usual degree of precision of the bearing components, provides an effective control of the shaft run-out. This makes the bearing especially suitable for high precision applications. The roller preloading also eliminates the need for a roller guidance from a retainer which, combined with the lighter rollers, generally means higher speed capabilities. In addition to the inherent superior rotational accuracy of the hollow roller bearing, it is also demonstrated as to why, contrary to the common belief, the preloading ability of the hollow rollers results in significant stiffness improvements over, say, a corresponding solid roller bearing. The significance of the roller hollowness is discussed with regard to the stiffness, load capacity and life characteristics of this bearing. Finally, the suitability of the various lubrication systems for this bearing are discussed.


1973 ◽  
Vol 187 (1) ◽  
pp. 763-770
Author(s):  
C. M. Taylor

Normally cylindrical roller bearings are employed to transmit purely radial loads. However, depending upon the configuration of lips or flanges on the rings, it is sometimes possible to carry an axial load. In certain applications, an axial load capability is essential. A significant feature in determining the performance of a cylindrical roller bearing under axial loading is the lubrication conditions existing between the lips and rolling elements. The paper describes a study of such conditions. The long-term aim of the work is to provide a basis for the design of cylindrical roller bearings to carry axial loads.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61
Author(s):  
Agniezka Chudzik ◽  
Bogdan Warda

Abstract In the roller-raceway contacts of the radial cylindrical roller bearing used in the axle boxes of a railway bogie, pressure accumulation may occur, reducing the fatigue life. This accumulation can be eliminated by applying logarithmic correction of generators and in particular varieties of the modified logarithmic correction. The correction parameters should be adapted to the operating conditions of the bearing. This article presents a comparison of the predicted fatigue life of an axle box bearing on correctly selected correction parameters with bearing life, in which correction of roller generators was used, typical for cylindrical roller bearings of general application. The finite element method was used to determine the subsurface stress distributions necessary to calculate the fatigue life.


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