Intro to Bearings Lecture Nov 4, 2013

Cheryl Quenneville, Ph.D., P.Eng. quennev@mcmaster.ca

Bearings
Every free body has 6 degrees of freedom A bearing is a device to:
Constrain some of the DOFs while leaving others free to move Carry a load (i.e. provide stiffness) in constrained directions Reduce friction in unconstrained directions

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Bearings
Bearings are designed to carry loads in certain directions, e.g. radial and/or axial for rotary bearings:

Applications
Anything with a rotating component! Found in:
Dental drills Mars Rover Cars Bicycle wheels Alignment systems Machinery Robots Skateboards, Rollerblades

Journal Bearings
Journal bearings, also called Plain bearings, have sliding, rather than rolling, contact Note that hydrodynamics topics are outside this course (you cover this in fluids) Consider an experiment by B. Tower in 1883:

Bushings
Independent plain bearing inserted into a housing Flanges on bushings used to locate or to provide thrust bearing surface Sizing: XXYY-ZZ where XX is ID in 16th of an inch, YY is OD in 16th of an inch, and ZZ is length in 8th of an inch Often secured using retaining rings instead of pressed in Made from durable, low friction, resistant materials

Plain Bearing Materials

A wide variety of bearing materials are available from different manufacturers, with different properties:

Note that some of these (e.g. bronze, wood) may require lubricant while others dont (e.g. Teflon, Carbon-Graphite) to sustain these values

Plain Bearing Materials

Load (P) is the pressure on the bearing. If a force of W is placed on the bearing, with a projected area (A) then P = W/A Speed (V) is the surface velocity at the bearing PV is the product of load and speed. Because of frictional heating, max PV is always less than product of max P and max V

Lubrication
Class 1: bearings requiring application of a lubricant (e.g. oil, grease) Class 2: bearings containing a lubricant within the walls of the bearing (e.g. bronze, graphite) Class 3: bearings made of materials that are the lubricant (e.g. Teflon)

Lubricants
The object of lubrication is to reduce friction, wear and heating of bearings Most common are mineral oils
Rated according to kinematic viscosity (strongly affected by temperature) Seals are required to keep oil in machine / dirt out

Grease is oil that has been thickened with additives. It is used when:
Temp < 100C Speed is low Unusual protection is required from foreign matter Simple bearing enclosures desired Operation for long periods with little attention

Solid lubricants (e.g. graphite) are useful at high temps, and when dirt is a problem

Lubrication Types
Different lubrication regions can be defined:
Boundary lubrication where asperities of the surface come into contact Hydrodynamic lubrication where there is a stable fluid film between surfaces and no contact Mixed lubrication is a region of unstable fluid film in between

Hydrodynamic bearings do not wear except when starting and stopping

E.g. auto engine bearings may last at least 109 revolutions before failure Friction coefficient may be very low (e.g. = 0.007)

Hydrostatic Bearings
Have the lubricant pumped into the bearing to create the fluid film
E.g. air hockey tables use pressurized air 500 ton Mt. Palomar telescope rotates with 1/12th HP

Hydrodynamic and hydrostatic bearing design involves significant fluid mechanics calculation

Boundary Lubricated Bearings

In many applications speeds, loads and/or life requirements are low, so boundary lubricated (or unlubricated) bearings suffice The bearing can be as simple as a drilled hole, or inserted bushings This bushing has a flange, allowing it to carry both radial and thrust loads

Antifriction Bearings
Use rolling contact (e.g. points in ball bearings & lines in roller bearings) Friction usually much reduced (e.g. = 0.015 for ball bearings vs. 0.15 for bronze bushing on steel shaft

Rolling Element Bearings

Low friction, moderate to high speed applications, moderate to high life, handle higher moments

Rolling Element Bearings

Cylindrical roller bearings

Higher load capacity than ball bearings, lower capacity and higher friction under loads perpendicular to primary direction Dont perform well if misaligned

Needle roller bearings

Long thin cylinders, often tapered Thin, so compact bearings, fatigue quickly

Rolling Element Bearings

Tapered roller bearings
Conical rollers & races, support both radial and axial loads Carry higher loads due to greater contact area, used for wheeled vehicles Expensive, acts as wedge, tries to eject roller, therefore greater friction

Spherical roller bearings

Outer race is spherically shaped inside Take both static & dynamic misalignment Expensive, higher friction (sliding)

Configurations
Thrust loads
Axial loads, such as vertical shafts Commonly spherical, conical or cylindrical rollers

Radial loads
Used for axles Light loads ball bearings, heavy loads tapered rollers

Linear motion
For shafts or flat surfaces Rollers mounted in cage, e.g. drawer slides Recirculating balls (in a groove)