Understanding Bearing Loads

 

The easiest way to understand a bearing’s lifespan and performance is by knowing about application load that will be placed on the bearing. A bearing load is defined as the force that will be transferred from one bearing ring to another ring through rolling elements.  A bearing supports the following types of loads:

• Radial Loads
• Axial Loads
• Preloads 
• Centrifugal Loads

Radial Load - Radial loads are forces that are perpendicular to the axis of the shaft, parallel to the bearing’s radius. Radial loads do not transfer force in a uniform or equal way onto the rolling elements. The rolling element directly under the application load is usually the one that receives the most force. If your application will place a radial load on the bearing, then either radial ball bearing or angular contact bearing with low contact angle will be a good bearing choice.

Axial Load - An Axial Load is a force that acts parallel to the axis of the shaft, sometimes referred to as the thrust load. Axial loads transfer force in an equal and uniform way onto rolling elements thereby creating balanced load distribution. If your application will place an axial load on the bearing, then an angular contact bearing with a higher contact angle around 25 degree will be a good bearing choice.

Preload - Bearing preload is a predetermined load that is applied to a bearing and is separate from application loads. Here the benefits of bearing preload:

• Protects from excessive skidding 
• Increases rigidity, reduces vibration 
• High running accuracy 
• Increases load capacity

If you are designing high-speed applications, consider using a light preload on your angular contact bearing. On the other hand if you are designing an application that needs tight rigidity and precision, you can consider high preload on angular contact bearing.

Centrifugal Load - Centrifugal loads come from rotational speeds of an application. It is force that is felt by an object moving in a curved path and acts outwardly away from the center of rotation. In a rotating bearing, the interaction between the rolling element and the outer ring produce a centrifugal load, here’s how -

• The inner ring rotates the rolling elements.
• The rolling elements, following the motion, want to continue straight along the path
• The outer ring must force the rolling elements to continue along the circular arc of the bearing.

Centrifugal loads are important in bearing selection because of the effect they have on bearing life. If an application requires high speed, consider using angular contact bearing with smaller balls. Another option is to switch from bearing balls to ceramic balls.

Primeroll offers aerospace, agriculture, automotive, cement & asphalt and steel industry rolling mill bearings. To get more information about our products, visit our website https://primeroll.in/