Design and Experimental Validation of Compliant Rolling-Contact Element (CORE) Bearings

Rose, Adam; Stowell, Spencer; Francom, Eli; Christiansen, Audrey; Usevitch, Nathan; Howell, Larry L.

doi:10.3390/machines14060600

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Open AccessArticle

Design and Experimental Validation of Compliant Rolling-Contact Element (CORE) Bearings

by

Adam Rose

^*

,

Spencer Stowell

,

Eli Francom

,

Audrey Christiansen

,

Nathan Usevitch

and

Larry L. Howell

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Machines 2026, 14(6), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines14060600

Submission received: 8 April 2026 / Revised: 18 May 2026 / Accepted: 21 May 2026 / Published: 27 May 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Compliant Mechanisms)

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Abstract

The compliant rolling-contact element (CORE) bearing is a compliant mechanism similar to a planetary gear that provides customizable rotational torque while maintaining high radial stiffness, enabling it to simultaneously function as a parallel elastic element and a bearing replacement. This work reexamines the CORE bearing as a combined spring and bearing element for parallel elastic actuator systems. It introduces alternative CORE bearing designs, evaluates the accuracy of a previous constant-torque model proposed in the literature, describes a finite element analysis to corroborate run-up behavior, presents an optimization tool for generating bearing geometry, and includes radial stiffness experiments to assess the consequences of different fabrication methods. Together, these results provide design guidance for determining the suitability of CORE bearings for parallel elastic systems and for selecting appropriate parameters.

Keywords: torsional spring; mechanism design; compliant rolling-contact element (CORE); CORE bearing; prosthetic robotics; torque–deflection modeling; radial stiffness; finite element analysis (FEA); compliant mechanisms; rolling-contact element; torsional spring; constant-force mechanism

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MDPI and ACS Style

Rose, A.; Stowell, S.; Francom, E.; Christiansen, A.; Usevitch, N.; Howell, L.L. Design and Experimental Validation of Compliant Rolling-Contact Element (CORE) Bearings. Machines 2026, 14, 600. https://doi.org/10.3390/machines14060600

AMA Style

Rose A, Stowell S, Francom E, Christiansen A, Usevitch N, Howell LL. Design and Experimental Validation of Compliant Rolling-Contact Element (CORE) Bearings. Machines. 2026; 14(6):600. https://doi.org/10.3390/machines14060600

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rose, Adam, Spencer Stowell, Eli Francom, Audrey Christiansen, Nathan Usevitch, and Larry L. Howell. 2026. "Design and Experimental Validation of Compliant Rolling-Contact Element (CORE) Bearings" Machines 14, no. 6: 600. https://doi.org/10.3390/machines14060600

APA Style

Rose, A., Stowell, S., Francom, E., Christiansen, A., Usevitch, N., & Howell, L. L. (2026). Design and Experimental Validation of Compliant Rolling-Contact Element (CORE) Bearings. Machines, 14(6), 600. https://doi.org/10.3390/machines14060600

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Design and Experimental Validation of Compliant Rolling-Contact Element (CORE) Bearings

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