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Tapered roller bearings are rolling element bearings that can support axial forces (i.e., they are good thrust bearings) as well as radial forces.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2010) |
Tapered roller bearings are rolling element bearings that can support axial forces (i.e., they are good thrust bearings) as well as radial forces.
The inner and outer ring raceways are segments of cones and the rollers are tapered so that the conical surfaces of the raceways, and the roller axes, if projected, would all meet at a common point on the main axis of the bearing. This geometry makes the motion of the cones remain coaxial, with no sliding motion between the raceways and the outside diameter of the rollers.
This conical geometry creates a linear contact patch which permits greater loads to be carried than with spherical (ball) bearings, which have point contact. The geometry means that the tangential speeds of the surfaces of each of the rollers are the same as their raceways along the whole length of the contact patch and no differential scrubbing occurs.
The rollers are stabilized and restrained by a flange on the inner ring, against which their large end slides, which stops the rollers from popping out due to the "pumpkin seed effect" of their conical shape.
The larger the half angles of these cones the larger the axial force that the bearing can sustain.
Tapered roller bearings are separable into a cone assembly and a cup. The non-separable cone assembly consists of the inner ring, the rollers, and a cage that retains and evenly spaces the rollers. The cup is simply the outer ring. Internal clearance is established during mounting by the axial position of the cone relative to the cup, although preloaded installations without clearance are common.
Metric tapered roller bearings follow the designation system defined by ISO 355.
On March 23, 1895, John Lincoln Scott, a farmer and carpenter from Wilmot, Indiana applied for a patent from the United States Patent Office for his invention of a roller bearing that fit on "the axle-skeins and hubs of wagons, buggies, or other wheeled vehicles". [1] The bearing was composed of two sets of cylindrical rollers, one set larger in diameter than the other, that fit on flats machined on the tapered axle-skein. In 1898, Henry Timken was awarded a patent [2] for the tapered roller bearing which used conical rollers. At the time, Timken was a carriage-maker in St. Louis and held three patents for carriage springs. However, it was his patent for tapered roller bearings that allowed his company to become successful.
Tapered roller bearings were a breakthrough at the end of the 19th century because bearings used in wheel axles had not changed much since ancient times. They consisted of a cylindrical seat on the frame and part of the axle enclosed in a case or box that held a lubricant. These were called journal bearings and relied on the lubricant to form a fluid bearing . Without adequate lubrication, [3] journal bearings would fail due to the excessive heat caused by friction. Timken was able to significantly reduce the friction on his axle bearings by adding tapered elements which actually rolled while transferring the load evenly from axle to frame through the hardened steel inner and outer rings and the rollers - his tapered roller bearing.
The tapered roller bearing in combination with modern lubricants is extremely durable and is used almost universally in applications involving rotating axle and transmission shafts. Bearing durability is such that these shafts often require no maintenance for hundreds of thousands of kilometers of operation.
In many applications tapered roller bearings are used in back-to-back pairs so that axial forces can be supported equally in either direction.
Pairs of tapered roller bearings are used in car and vehicle wheel bearings where they must cope simultaneously with large vertical (radial) and horizontal (axial) forces. Tapered roller bearings are commonly used for moderate speed, heavy duty applications where durability is required. Common real world applications are in agriculture, construction and mining equipment, sports robot combat, axle systems, gear box, engine motors and reducers, propeller shaft, railroad axle-box, differential, wind turbines, etc. A tapered roller bearing is a unit that consists of both tapered raceways (inner and outer rings), and tapered rollers. The construction is intended for combination loads, such as dual acting axial and radial loads. The bearing axis is where the projected lines of the raceway combine at a common location to improve rolling, while reducing friction. The load capacity can be increased or decreased depending on the contact angle being increased or decreased. The higher the degree of angle, the greater the contact angle. They are commonly used in pairs for better radial load handling, and in some heavy duty applications, can be found in two or four rows combined in a single unit.
A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races.
Fluid bearings are bearings in which the load is supported by a thin layer of rapidly moving pressurized liquid or gas between the bearing surfaces. Since there is no contact between the moving parts, there is no sliding friction, allowing fluid bearings to have lower friction, wear and vibration than many other types of bearings. Thus, it is possible for some fluid bearings to have near-zero wear if operated correctly.
A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the desired motion, and reduces friction between moving parts. The design of the bearing may, for example, provide for free linear movement of the moving part or for free rotation around a fixed axis; or, it may prevent a motion by controlling the vectors of normal forces that bear on the moving parts. Most bearings facilitate the desired motion by minimizing friction. Bearings are classified broadly according to the type of operation, the motions allowed, or to the directions of the loads (forces) applied to the parts.
A plain bearing, or more commonly sliding contact bearing and slide bearing, is the simplest type of bearing, comprising just a bearing surface and no rolling elements. Therefore, the journal slides over the bearing surface. The simplest example of a plain bearing is a shaft rotating in a hole. A simple linear bearing can be a pair of flat surfaces designed to allow motion; e.g., a drawer and the slides it rests on or the ways on the bed of a lathe.
In mechanical engineering, a rolling-element bearing, also known as a rolling bearing, is a bearing which carries a load by placing rolling elements between two concentric, grooved rings called races. The relative motion of the races causes the rolling elements to roll with very little rolling resistance and with little sliding.
A thrust bearing is a particular type of rotary bearing. Like other bearings they permanently rotate between parts, but they are designed to support a predominantly axial load.
Babbitt metal or bearing metal is any of several alloys used for the bearing surface in a plain bearing.
A linear-motion bearing or linear slide is a bearing designed to provide free motion in one direction. There are many different types of linear motion bearings.
In an automobile, ball joints are spherical bearings that connect the control arms to the steering knuckles, and are used on virtually every automobile made. They bionically resemble the ball-and-socket joints found in most tetrapod animals.
A ball screw is a mechanical linear actuator that translates rotational motion to linear motion with little friction. A threaded shaft provides a helical raceway for ball bearings which act as a precision screw. As well as being able to apply or withstand high thrust loads, they can do so with minimum internal friction. They are made to close tolerances and are therefore suitable for use in situations in which high precision is necessary. The ball assembly acts as the nut while the threaded shaft is the screw. In contrast to conventional leadscrews, ballscrews tend to be rather bulky, due to the need to have a mechanism to recirculate the balls.
A spherical plain bearing is a bearing that permits angular rotation about a central point in two orthogonal directions. Typically these bearings support a rotating shaft in the bore of the inner ring that must move not only rotationally, but also at an angle.
The rolling-elements of a rolling-element bearing ride on races. The large race that goes into a bore is called the outer race, and the small race that the shaft rides in is called the inner race.
To "slew" means to turn without change of place.
In mechanical engineering, a cam follower, also known as a track follower, is a specialized type of roller or needle bearing designed to follow cam lobe profiles. Cam followers come in a vast array of different configurations, however the most defining characteristic is how the cam follower mounts to its mating part; stud style cam followers use a stud while the yoke style has a hole through the middle.
The yaw bearing is the most crucial and cost intensive component of a yaw system found on modern horizontal axis wind turbines. The yaw bearing must cope with enormous static and dynamic loads and moments during the wind turbine operation, and provide smooth rotation characteristics for the orientation of the nacelle under all weather conditions. It has also to be corrosion and wear resistant and extremely long lasting. It should last for the service life of the wind turbine) while being cost effective.
A roller screw, also known as a planetary roller screw or satellite roller screw, is a low-friction precision screw-type actuator, a mechanical device for converting rotational motion to linear motion, or vice versa. Planetary roller screws are used as the actuating mechanism in many electro-mechanical linear actuators. Due to its complexity the roller screw is a relatively expensive actuator, but may be suitable for high-precision, high-speed, heavy-load, long-life and heavy-use applications.
A spherical roller bearing is a rolling-element bearing that permits rotation with low friction, and permits angular misalignment. Typically these bearings support a rotating shaft in the bore of the inner ring that may be misaligned in respect to the outer ring. The misalignment is possible due to the spherical internal shape of the outer ring and spherical rollers. Despite what their name may imply, spherical roller bearings are not truly spherical in shape. The rolling elements of spherical roller bearings are mainly cylindrical in shape, but have a profile that makes them appear like cylinders that have been slightly over-inflated.
A spherical roller thrust bearing is a rolling-element bearing of thrust type that permits rotation with low friction, and permits angular misalignment. The bearing is designed to take radial loads, and heavy axial loads in one direction. Typically these bearings support a rotating shaft in the bore of the shaft washer that may be misaligned in respect to the housing washer. The misalignment is possible due to the spherical internal shape of the house washer.
A gear bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing similar to an epicyclic gear. Gear bearings consist of a number of smaller 'satellite' gears which revolve around the center of the bearing along a track on the outsides of the internal and satellite gears, and on the inside of the external gear. Each gear is in between two concentric rings. Therefore, the widths of the satellite gears must all be the same.
The pitch bearing, also named blade bearing, is a component of modern wind turbines which connect the rotor hub and the rotor blade. The bearing allows the required oscillation to control the loads and power of the wind turbine. The pitch system brings the blade to the desired position by adapting the aerodynamic angle of attack. The pitch system is also used for emergency breaks of the turbine system.