A Critical and Comparative Study of Layered Cylindrical Hollow Roller Bearing Using Numerical and Experimental Analyses for the Assessment of Static Load Carrying Capacity

Abstract The fatigue life of rolling bearings is a critical factor in their selection and application, driving ongoing research aimed at enhancing their performance. Among the solutions explored, the introduction of hollow rollers has been noted for their lighter weight and reduced stress. However, experimental results have shown that hollow rollers can suffer catastrophic failures under low static loading conditions. Recent studies have demonstrated that layered cylindrical hollow rollers (LCHRs) outperform both conventional solid and hollow cylindrical rollers under similar loading conditions. This warrants further investigation into the potential benefits of LCHR. This study aims to estimate the static load carrying capacity of LCHR bearing in comparison to hollow cylindrical roller bearings having different hollowness percentage. Corrected experimental results from individual roller-on-plate tests showed excellent agreement (within 5%) with numerical analyses, validating the numerical approach. Key parameters such as von Mises stress, contact pressure, bending stress, and contact width were obtained through numerical analysis. Additionally, a static load test rig was designed and developed to estimate the static load carrying capacity of the bearings under examination. The results of full bearing sample tests for various roller types corroborated the individual roller-on-plate test findings. The observed superior static load carrying capacity and promising semi-contact width of LCHR indicate their potential for extended fatigue life compared to solid and hollow rollers.