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DETERMINATION OF BEARING FRACTURE LOAD IN SHOCK LOAD

CONDITIONS AND SELECTION OF BEARING TYPE

Prakash Banait
Manager Research & Development
NRB Bearings Limited
2
nd
Pokhran Road, Majiwade
Thane 400 610, India

Aniket Yerawar
Manager Engineering Center
NRB Bearings Limited
2
nd
Pokhran Road, Majiwade
Thane 400 610, India




ABSTRACT
Present paper reveals the Iracture patterns oI the bearing with case hardened outer race and a bearing with through
hardened outer race in shock loading. The eIIect oI outer race thickness and better material properties like UTS and
increased case depth is also analyzed. The Iailure pattern oI the needle bearing with case hardened outer race is
compared with actual Iailure pattern. The Finite Element Mesh is prepared in HyperMesh 8.0 SR1. LSDyna970 is used
to solve Iinite element equations. HyperView8.0SR1 & LsPrepost is used to display the Iailure pattern. The load at the
time oI Iracture is captured using HyperGraph8.0. Based on the Iailure pattern and the Iracture load value, conclusions
have been drawn Ior a bearing to be used in customer application where shock loads are expected.

Introduction

In automobiles, the wheels are supported on antiIriction roller bearings. The arrangement looks very similar to the
one shown in Iigure1.


Figure 1. Bearing arrangement

Normally the bearing arrangement Ior light vehicles consists oI a needle bearing and a ball bearing. Automobile
manuIacturer preIers a needle bearing with sheet metal outer race in the needle bearing location shown above. This is
Needle bearing
Wheel Axle
Connected to
Chassis
Ball bearing
Wheel drum


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due the space constraint to accommodate the bearing. Present paper is on the analysis oI the needle bearing at the
location shown above. The main hurdle in the analysis oI bearing in such an application is calculation oI bearing load.
There are number oI Iactors to be considered Ior the bearing load calculation oI the bearing which is subjected to
shock kind oI loads as like in wheel application. These Iactors are, load, running speed oI vehicle, condition oI road
in terms oI the dimensions oI the troughs or speed-breakers on the road, the driving pattern oI the driver like Irequent
changes in gears, Iast acceleration or deceleration, braking pattern oI the driver and the condition oI the vehicle itselI.
Hence, it is practically impossible to calculate the accurate load. The load which is calculated is normally an average
load on the bearing. Bearing selection is done based on the dynamic capacity and expected Iatigue liIe oI the bearing.
However, shock load generated when the vehicle is running on the road can be momentary, but much higher than the
average load calculated. Bearing may seize in such a case and catastrophic Iailure may occur. For this reason, it is
necessary to identiIy the bearing parameter/parameters which have eIIect on the catastrophic Iailure oI the bearing
and then optimize these parameters within the boundary dimensions Iixed by the design oI the application viz. shaIt
and housing diameter dimensions, so as to get best possible strength against the catastrophic Iailure.

For the wheel application, normally Iollowing two types oI needle bearings are used

Needle bearing with case hardened sheet metal outer race called needle bush
Needle bearing with through hardened outer race called solid race bearing.

These types are shown below

Figure 2: Needle bush Figure 3. Solid race bearing

The dynamic capacity and static capacity oI the bearing is determined by number oI needle rollers, needle roller
diameter, needle roller length and the pitch circle diameter oI the needle roller set. As can be visualized Irom Iigure 2
and Iigure 3, Ior the same shaIt diameter and bearing width value, needle bearing with sheet metal outer race can
accommodate needle rollers with increased length. Obviously, the dynamic capacity and static capacity oI needle
bearing with sheet metal outer race is more than that oI solid race bearing. Hence, Ior better liIe perspective, needle
bearing with sheet metal outer race is more preIerred by the application designer Irom Iatigue liIe point oI view. II
the loads are lesser i.e. lesser than 25 to 30 oI bearing static capacity, then needle bush perIorms Ior the expected
liIe without catastrophic Iailure. This is because, the strength oI case hardened sheet metal outer race is lesser than
that oI needle rollers due to smaller thickness and case hardened nature oI outer race and low carbon steel material. II
the loads are higher i.e. more than 30 oI the bearing static capacity, then instead oI needle bush, solid race bearing
perIorms Ior the expected liIe. This is because the strength oI the outer race Ior solid race bearing is more than the
needle rollers used in solid race bearing due to the Iact that outer race is oI alloy steel, oI thicker construction and
through hardened nature. So, Ior the bearing application with shock loads oI the order oI more than 30 oI static
capacity oI the bearing, solid race bearing is to be preIerred over needle bearing with case hardened sheet metal outer
ring. However, due to thicker cross section oI the outer race, solid race bearing requires bigger housing diameter
dimension compared with needle bush.

II the space available in the application does not allow the use oI solid race bearing, and only needle bearing with
sheet metal outer race can be used, then the bearing designer has to Iind ways oI more or less equalizing the strengths
oI needle rollers and that oI the case hardened sheet metal outer race so that the risk oI catastrophic Iailure at much
lesser loads is reduced. To validate this theme, three variants oI design are selected and analyzed by
HyperMesh/LSDyna Ior estimation oI Iracture load and Iracture pattern under shock loading.




Case hardened sheet
metal outer race
Needles
Through hardened
outer race
Needles
Retainer &
Washer


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These three variants are as Iollows:
1) Needle bearing with less thickness oI sheet metal outer race and low carbon steel material

Figure 4. Needle bush with low carbon steel outer race and smaller thickness
2) Needle bearing with increased thickness oI sheet metal outer race and low carbon alloy steel material


Figure 5: Needle bush with low carbon alloy steel outer race and increased thickness
3) Solid race needle bearing with through hardened and thicker outer race oI bearing steel.

Figure 6: Solid race needle bearing with through hardened outer race with bearing steel

1.0 Process Methodology (details with figures)

Following process is Iollowed Ior the analysis. For example, needle bush with sheet metal outer race is taken.
1. 3D models oI components viz. sheet metal outer race, needle roller are created in Pro/Engineer and
exported as .igs Iiles containing surIaces.


Figure 7. Pro/Engineer model oI sheet metal outer race and needle





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2. .igs Iiles oI sheet metal outer race and needle are imported in HyperMesh8.0SR1/LSDyna interIace.












Figure 8. '.igs model oI sheet metal outer race and needle roller imported in HyperMesh

3. Cross section oI shell is divided in case hardened area and core area and then meshed with quad
elements as shown below.









Figure 9: Cross section of the sheet metal outer race is divided in two areas, case and core

4. 3D mesh Ior sheet metal outer race is prepared by spinning the quad elements oI case and core
within 180 degrees in individual layers.
5. 3D mesh Ior needle roller is prepared using hex elements.















Figure 10. 3D mesh Ior needle, sheet metal outer race case and core











6. Assembly oI sheet metal outer race (HalI portion) and needle rollers in the halI portion is
created in HyperMesh.

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Figure 11. HalI portion oI bearing meshed
7. The shaIt and housing portion which comes in contact with the bearing is modeled with hex
elements.
Figure 12. ShaIt and housing mesh
8. The contact between shaIt and individual needles, individual needles and sheet metal outer race,
sheet metal outer race and housing, individual needle with the needle next to it are deIined as
surIace to surIace contacts.

Figure 13. Contact deIined as 'SurIaceToSurIace

9. 5 nodes are selected on the shaIt cylindrical surIace and uniIorm radial load is applied on all these 5
nodes. The load on the shaIt is increased Irom 10 oI static capacity oI the bearing to an estimated
maximum value more than static capacity oI the bearing. The load is applied on the shaIt in 0.1
seconds. The shaIt is at 0.02 mm radial clearance Irom the needle rollers at 0 time. This clearance is
necessary as initial velocity Ior impact will be imparted by travel oI the shaIt towards needle rollers,
sheet metal outer race and the housing in the radial direction oI load application. The contact between
shell and housing need to be modeled Ior contact pressure transmission Irom shaIt to shell outer
surIace through needle rollers, case and core oI the shell. Load at Finite Element rupture is captured
as Iailure load.

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Figure 14: Load nodes and the variation oI load Irom 10 oI static value to maximum just above static capacity

10. Housing is Iully constrained.















Figure 15: All degrees oI Ireedom Ior housing locked.

11. The sheet metal outer race is a case hardened steel component. Hence, dual nature oI stress
strain curve Ior case and core is essential Ior the analysis.










Figure 16. Stress strain curve Ior the core and the case section oI the sheet metal outer race (Values are not shown Ior the conIidentiality oI the
data|2|

12. The shaIt and housing material is considered as RIGID material and material properties card
MATRIGID is used to deIine material properties oI shaIt and housing. The core and case material is
considered to be oI the type MATPIECEWISELINEARPLASTICITY. The stress strain
relationship Ior the case and core components is deIined by respective STRESS STRAIN CURVES.
elongation oI material is taken as the criteria Ior element deletion during the analysis.







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1.1 Results & Discussions

Parameter
Case 1) Needle bearing with
less thickness oI sheet metal
outer race and low carbon steel
material



Case 2) Needle bearing with
increased thickness oI sheet
metal outer race and low carbon
alloy steel material


Case 3) Solid race needle
bearing with through
hardened and thicker outer
race oI bearing steel


Sheet
metal wall
thickness
T 1.29T 4.69T
Outer race
material
Low carbon steel Low carbon alloy steel Bearing steel
SurIace
hardness
Hs Hs Hs
Core
hardness
Hc 1.4Hc Hs
Case depth h 1.5h Through hardened
Static
capacity
Co 1.05Co 0.94Co
Dynamic
capacity
C 0.9C 0.93C
Fracture
load


Figure 17 : Fracture load
For solid race bearing, the
analysis is carried out Ior
single needle roller contact
with outer race and results
are extrapolated Ior
complete bearing. The
Iailure load recorded is
1.13Co
Fracture
pattern
Figure 18(1). Fracture pattern case 1

Figure 18(2): Iracture pattern case 2

Figure 18(3): Fracture pattern
case 3
Case 2)
0.78Co
Case 1)
0.6Co

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Actual
Iailure
pattern

Figure 20. Actual Iracture pattern
Not available Not available



Strength oI sheet metal outer
race is much less than that oI
needles. Hence, Iracture load
reported is much less than the
static capacity. Sheet metal
outer race Iails Iirst and needle
rollers remain intact. Note the
similarity between actual
Iracture pattern (stretch marks
on the cylindrical Iace oI sheet
metal outer race) and the Iinite
element result oI Iracture
pattern.
Sheet metal outer race strength is
improved by using alloy steel
material and increasing the case
depth and the wall thickness.
The strength is made closer to
static capacity. Here also sheet
metal outer race Iails Iirst but at
load closer to the static capacity
oI the bearing.
The strength oI the bearing
steel outer ring is greater
than that oI needle rollers.
Hence, needle roller Iails
Iirst than the outer ring.
The Iailure load reported is
more than the static
capacity oI the bearing.
Choice
rating
Number THREE Number TWO Number ONE
Selection
by
boundary
dimensions
Since solid race outer ring has thicker cross section, it is not always possible to use solid race
bearing. Hence needle bearing with sheet metal outer race is used. II such is the case, then eIIorts
must be made to equalize the strengths oI the outer race and the needle rollers. This minimizes
the risk oI catastrophic Iailure against shock loads.


1.2 Benefits
1. By this analysis, the bearing designer now has a tool to equalize on the strengths oI individual
components in the bearing whose selection is merely based on dynamic capacity.
2. Bearing designer now, is in position to estimate the Iracture load and pattern in a shock load
application.
3. Biggest advantage Ior the bearing customers will be that they are at minimum risk oI wrong bearing
selection.
4. The Iinite element methodology can be used as soItware validation oI bearing under shock load
conditions.

1.3 Challenges
In the present methodology, the value oI impact load coming on the bearing was not known. There could be
two ways oI estimating and using the impact load value. One is to model the whole vehicle Ior crash analysis
and subject it to modeled road condition on FEM soItware. This would have required, correct modeling oI not
only all the parts but also the clearances between various parts in the vehicle assembly. Practically speaking,
Ior bearing manuIacturer getting details oI all the vehicle components is virtually impossible. Hence other
alternative was to derive a mathematical Iormula which would calculate the impact load value on the wheel
bearing. Even iI such a Iormula is devised, checking the validity oI the Iormula would have required above
mentioned modeling oI all vehicle parts. Hence main hurdle in the analysis was, how much load the bearing
should be acted upon to check the validity oI the bearing Ior the application under consideration. AIter lot oI
brainstorming, it was decided to equalize the capacities oI bearings w.r.t. needle rollers and w.r.t. sheet metal
outer race material, case depth and thickness oI the sheet metal outer race. This has deIinitely reduced the risk
oI Iailure as Iracture load Ior needles and the sheet metal outer race is equalized and increased nearer to static
capacity oI the bearing.






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1.4 Conclusion:
Present work establishes the validation technique oI the static capacity oI the bearing and also establishes the
methodology to analyze the bearing strength to withstand shock loads. The present methodology has been
used Ior more than 6 bearing products till date and is Iound giving expected results. The authors propose to
use this technique as a validation methodology Ior bearing products to be used in shock loading conditions.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank NRB management especially Mr. Prabir ray, vice president, engineering Ior his
sustained motivation and support throughout the project. The authors also wish to thank Mr. R.G.Gaudana-Quality, Mr.
Sanjay Arole General Manager, Metallurgy, Mr. P.T.Samant Manager Design, Mr. Milind Ghan Manager
Design, Mr. Moses Awaskar Assistant manager, design. In the end authors would like to thank Altair team Ior their
invaluable guidance and Iocus on the completion oI this project.
REFERENCES
|1| 'Ls-Dyna970manualk,Ls-Dyna manual Ior use oI various cards
|2| Prabir Ray, P.T.Samant, Milind Ghan, Moses Awaskar, 'Material standards, NRB internal materials standards.