Asymmetric Roller Geometry for Load Distribution in Self-Aligning Bearings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Double-row self-aligning roller bearings face challenges in evenly distributing axial and radial loads between rollers, leading to uneven contact surface pressures and reduced rolling life, especially when used in applications like wind power generators, where one row of rollers receives predominantly axial loads, causing surface damage and wear.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves adjusting the distances from the centers of the roller lengths to the positions of their maximum diameters in both rows to change the contact angles without altering the roller positions, allowing for equal contact surface pressures and improved load distribution between the rows, ensuring a high load capacity and extended bearing life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If the lengths of rollers in two rows are made different to increase load capacity of axial load-receiving rollers, then the rolling life of the bearing is improved, but the bearing width exceeds specified dimensional standards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the rollers asymmetric in shape, specifically positioning the maximum diameter at a specific location rather than at the center. This allows each roller to have different load-bearing characteristics at different locations, enabling the rear-row rollers to receive axial load while maintaining equal lengths across all rollers and staying within bearing width standards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs asymmetry by designing rollers where the maximum diameter is positioned at a specific location rather than at the center. This asymmetric geometry creates different contact angles for front-row and rear-row rollers, allowing the rear-row rollers to effectively receive axial load while maintaining equal roller lengths and complying with bearing width dimensional standards.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If the length of rollers that receive almost no axial load is extremely shortened to balance load capacities, then the rolling life is improved, but the rotation stability of the rollers becomes lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning the maximum diameter of each roller at a specific location rather than at the center. This creates a localized load-bearing characteristic that allows the roller to maintain adequate length for rotation stability while still achieving balanced load distribution between front-row and rear-row rollers through the asymmetric geometry.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the contact angles of rollers in two rows are made different to allow proper load distribution, then the rolling life is improved, but the device complexity increases due to asymmetric roller design
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetry by positioning the maximum diameter of rollers at a specific location rather than at the center. This asymmetric geometry naturally creates different contact angles for front-row and rear-row rollers, achieving proper load distribution and extended rolling life while maintaining a relatively simple overall bearing structure with equal-length rollers that comply with dimensional standards.
Data Source
AI summary
A double-row self-aligning roller bearing has rollers interposed, in two rows aligned in a bearing width direction, between an inner ring and an outer ring. The outer ring has a spherical raceway surface. Each of the rollers has an outer circumferential surface having a cross-sectional shape that matches the raceway surface of the outer ring. The rollers have lengths equal to each other and maximum diameters equal to each other, and have different distances from centers of the roller lengths to positions at which the maximum diameters are obtained.