Spherical Roller Bearing Analysis

Abstract

This paper documents the analytic foundation and software architecture for the computerized mathematical simulation of spherical roller bearing behavior, with emphasis on the mechanical aspects of bearing operation at a given temperature. The resulting software, SPHERBEAN (SPHERical BEaring ANalysis), permits isothermal investigation of spherical bearing performance under axial, radial, or combined loading. The analysis considers elastohydrodynamic (EHD) and hydrodynamic (HD) lubrication loads, roller tilt and skew, roller speeds, and mounting fits. Sample problems illustrating program use are presented.