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Effect of clearances in rolling element bearings on their dynamic performance, quality and operating life

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Abstract

The performance of rolling element bearings is one of the machine quality measures in industry. The fatigue life and performance of rolling element bearings depends mainly on the dynamic characteristics of those bearings. This paper studied the effect of the internal radial clearance on the damping characteristics, natural modes of vibration, and fatigue life of rolling element bearings. Vibration modal analysis was performed on rolling bearings of the same size and type to measure their dynamic characteristics. These dynamic characteristics include the natural frequency of the first mode of vibration, damping, and amplitude of frequency response function at resonance. The internal radial clearances of these bearings were measured. A statistical analysis was performed to study the correlation between the internal radial clearance and the dynamic characteristics of rolling bearings. It was found that the damping ratio of the bearing assembly increased by reducing the internal radial clearance of the bearing. Similarly, rolling bearings that have large internal clearances showed short predicted fatigue life. It is concluded that the dynamic characteristics, and consequently the dynamic performance, of rolling bearings are significantly affected by the internal radial clearance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada

    Mostafa Yakout

  2. Production Engineering Department, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21544, Egypt

    M. G. A. Nassef & Soheir Backar

Authors
  1. Mostafa Yakout
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  2. M. G. A. Nassef
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  3. Soheir Backar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mostafa Yakout.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Gyuhae Park

Mostafa Yakout is a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering at McMaster University. His research interests include metal additive manufacturing, design engineering, and manufacturing engineering. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Production Engineering from Alexandria University. He is a member of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME), the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibrations (IIAV).

M.G.A. Nassef is an Assistant Professor in the Production Engineering Department in Alexandria University, Egypt. He graduated from the same department in June 2005. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2013 at Bremen University in the field of machine tool dynamics. Since then he has been an Assistant Professor at Alexandria University. His research interests include machine tool dynamics, machinery condition monitoring, and modal analysis applications.

Soheir Backar is an Assistant Professor in the Production Engineering Department, Alexandria University, Egypt. She graduated from the same department in June 1997 and obtained her Ph.D. in 2007 in the field of Metrology and Quality Control. Her research interests include product development process and quality control systems.

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Yakout, M., Nassef, M.G.A. & Backar, S. Effect of clearances in rolling element bearings on their dynamic performance, quality and operating life. J Mech Sci Technol 33, 2037–2042 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-0406-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-0406-y

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