Cage slip characteristics of a cylindrical roller bearing with a trilobe-raceway

Based on dynamic analysis of rolling bearings, the nonlinear dynamic differential equations of a cylindrical roller bearing with a trilobe-raceway were established and solved by the GSTIFF (gear stiff) integer algorithm with a variable step. The influences of structural parameters and the tolerance of the trilobe-raceway, working conditions of the bearing, and the outer ring installation method on cage slip characteristics were investigated. The results show that: (i) The cage slip ratio and bearing rating life of a cylindrical roller bearing with a trilobe-raceway would reduce when the low-radius (radius of the outer raceway contour at the lowest point) and D-value (difference value between the high and low points of the outer raceway contour) decrease, and the former (low-radius) contributes more significantly. (ii) The cage slip ratio of a cylindrical roller bearing with a trilobe-raceway rises with the increase of the bearing speed, and decreases with the increase of the radial force; the variation range increases with the increase of the low-radius. (iii) When the installation angle of the outer ring increases in a period, the cage slip ratio remains unchanged while the bearing rating life rises up a little. Therefore, when installing a cylindrical roller bearing with a trilobe-raceway, the location of the maximum radius shall be under that of the radial force to improve the bearing rating life. (iv) With the increase of the roundness of the base circle where the radius of the lowest points of the trilobe-raceway contour locates, the cage slip ratio rises gradually and the bearing rating life decreases.