Mechanical behavior of double-row tapered roller bearing under combined external loads and angular misalignment

In actual engineering applications, single-row tapered roller bearing is usually assembled into double-row bearing to accommodate the heavy load conditions. The running safety and stability of machineries are highly determined by the characteristics of double-row tapered roller bearing. Therefore, the mechanical behavior of double-row tapered roller bearing is discussed in current work by extending the mathematical model of three degrees of freedom. A comprehensive analytical procedure for double-row tapered roller bearing in the presence of combined external loads and angular misalignment is proposed. Meanwhile, centrifugal load is considered based on the theory of three degrees of freedom. Unlike other researches, the external loads and angular misalignment are taken as the so-called mixed input parameters in current work to deal with the quasi-static equilibrium equations of double-row tapered roller bearing by using the iterative technique known as Newton-Raphson method. The resisting moment, contact loads and fatigue life of double-row tapered roller bearing under different loads are mainly studied in present work. Meanwhile, the comprehensive calculations demonstrate the effects of external loads, axial pre-deformation, bearing rotating speed, and angular misalignment on the characteristics of double-row tapered roller bearing. The results indicate that the angular misalignment and axial pre-deformation can highly influence the resisting moment. The contact state between roller and inner ring as well as the contact state between roller and guiding flange of bearing are remarkably affected by the factors aforementioned. Moreover, the fatigue life of double-row tapered roller bearing is dependent on the rotating speed, external loads, and angular misalignment in a large extent. The analytical method and results reveal the several important aspects of double-row tapered roller bearing in applications and thus would help the selection, design and assembling of the bearing.