On the dynamic performance of roller bearings operating under low rotational speeds with consideration of surface roughness

The dynamic behavior of radially-loaded roller bearings operating at high loads and low speeds with different surface roughness values is investigated. The simulations take into account different lubrication regimes (rigid solid-isoviscous, elastic solid-isoviscous, rigid solid-piezoviscous and elastic solid-piezoviscous) in the loaded and unloaded sections of the bearing. The simulation results provide a detailed understanding of the variation of the film thickness, wear rate and heat generation between the rollers and the raceways as the rollers travel in the orbital direction. Simulation results reveal that an increase in the radial load results in a proportional increase in the wear rate and an exponential increase in the heat generation, although it does not affect the film thickness noticeably.