Analysis of the load distribution in a rolling bearing - With and without damage

Abstract

Due to action of an external radial load on the bearing assembly, the load is transferred through the rolling elements from one bearing ring to another. However, not all rolling elements are equally involved in the load transfer from the shaft to the housing. This directly reflects on the non-uniformly load distribution on the rolling elements, which depends on the internal geometry of the bearing and the intensity of the external load. The main character of load distribution on the rolling elements of a single-row rolling bearing with radial contact with and without damage on the rolling race was analyzed in this paper. The Finite Element Analysis for a particular ball bearing type is developed for these purposes. The influence of damage dimensions variation, as well as external load intensity on the load distribution within the bearing is considered. The obtained results show that when damage dimensions increase, the load transmitted by rolling elements located just below central plane increases, while the loading on the rolling elements whose center is in the direction of external load decreases. However, with the increasing of the external load, and in the case of damage appearance on the rolling race, load distribution between rolling elements become very similar to the load distribution for the case of the bearing without damage.