Kinematic Equilibrium of Rollers in Tapered Roller Bearings

This article proposes a numerical analysis for kinematic equilibrium at each roller in tapered roller bearings to investigate the sliding and rolling behavior as well as the skew movement. The kinematic equilibrium allows evaluating the roller skew angle, cage, and roller velocities. This analysis is based on a hybrid numerical method, called Powell's minimization algorithm. The effect of the kinematic equilibrium for each roller on the sliding velocity will be discussed. Moreover, the sliding velocity at the contacts will be examined for different geometrical profiles of the rollers and raceways. We will also study the influence of some parameters on the roller skew. The skew results will be compared to those found in the literature. Results show that Powell's numerical minimization method performs well for applying kinematic equilibrium to each roller.