Abstract
An appropriate tooth contact pattern is required in order to yield a gear pair with high load capacity and low noise. The bearing stiffness greatly affects the tooth contact pattern and the performance of power transmission units. Harris and Kotzalas have established the method of evaluating bearing stiffness. The bearing stiffness evaluated using their method strongly depends on the bearing clearance. Unless the bearing clearance is accurately determined, it is impossible to evaluate the alignment of gears in consideration of the bearing stiffness. However, our measurements of the bearing stiffness showed the little dependence on the bearing clearance, so that the bearing clearance may mot be required for evaluating the alignment of gears. The present paper describes a new method for evaluating the stiffness of deep groove ball bearings subject to radial load. The new method includes consideration of the compressive deformation of the balls in addition to the contact deformation of the ball and the inner/outer ring. Bearing stiffness calculated using the proposed method slightly depended on the bearing clearance, and agreed with measured one. The proposed method could enable the alignment of gears to be evaluated in consideration of the bearing stiffness.
Keywords: Bearing, Deep Groove Ball Bearing, Bearing Stiffness, Hertzian Contact, Radial Load