Performance Characteristics at the Rib Roller End Contact in Tapered Roller Bearings

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Abstract
Analytical and experimental work is presented to determine the nature of the coefficient of friction at the large rib roller end of a tapered roller bearing. The analytical work considers the dynamic equilibrium of a roller, and it is shown that for normal bearing speeds the inertial forces have negligible effect on the performance at the rib contact. Mathematical expressions for the frictional torque on a detached rib have been derived for the case of axially applied bearing loads. Experimental work has been carried out to obtain the rib torque values for the detached rib of a tapered roller bearing. Experimental information has been presented to show the variation in the value of the coefficient of friction with the sliding speed and the Hertzian stress at the rib contact. It is observed that the condition of lubrication is an important factor influencing the performance at the rib and that for the hydrodynamic condition of lubrication, the value of the rib torque is very low.