Frictional Torque of Needle Roller Thrust Bearings

In this study, the frictional torque of a needle roller thrust bearing was investigated theoretically and experimentally. In order to evaluate the torque, the roller motion of the bearing was explained regarding the condition that the energy loss generated at the portion where the roller comes in contact with the raceway becomes minimum. Second, by using the results obtained above, the frictional torque of three types of needle roller thrust bearing, single-, double-, and triple-row, were analyzed. Following the theoretical studies, using various types of bearings obtained by changing the number of rollers, the bearing pitch diameters, the roller length, the roller diameter, and the number of rows, experimental investigations were carried out.