Effect of angular misalignment on the stiffness of the double-row self-aligning ball bearing

Abstract

The double-row self-aligning ball bearing commonly runs with angular misalignment between the inner and outer rings, and the angular misalignment significantly affects the bearing performance. However, the effect of angular misalignment on the dynamic characteristics of the double-row self-aligning ball bearing has not been studied thoroughly. This paper investigates the effect of angular misalignment on the stiffness of the double-row self-aligning ball bearing. The quasi-static model for the double-row self-aligning ball bearing is established with five degrees of freedom, namely, three translational displacements along x, y, and z directions and two tilting angles around x-axis and y-axis. The internal clearance between balls and raceways is included in the presented model. The formulation of the three-dimensional stiffness matrix for the double-row self-aligning ball bearing is analytically derived, and is verified by comparing with the available dada in published literature. Finally, the stiffness of the double-row self-aligning ball bearing under various angular misalignment conditions is analyzed systematically. The results show that the tilting angles vary the contact angles and contact forces of the compressed balls in the double-row self-aligning ball bearing, thus affect the bearing stiffness; the bearing stiffness decreases with the internal clearance; the angular misalignment significantly impacts the stiffness of the bearing running at a low speed.