An Analysis on Negative Effects of Shaft Deflection on Angular Misalignment of Rollers Inside Tapered Roller Bearing

Shaft deflection degrades roller alignment and intensifies stress concentration/edge effects at roller-ends and raceway edges, ultimately compromising service performance of tapered roller bearings (TRBs). Therefore, a dynamic model was developed for a TRB subjected to a deflected shaft in which Johnson’s load–deformation relationship was applied to reflect non-uniform cross-sectional structures of the tapered rollers and raceways, viscous damping was integrated into the roller/cage interaction, and friction actions at the raceways and flange areas were treated separately. Then, moment load and angular misalignment of the tapered roller were analyzed under various shaft deflection and operating conditions. Results indicate that tilt angle remains orders of magnitude smaller than skew angle. Shaft deflection amplifies both skew and tilt, and the influence level is proportional to the bearing size. Centrifugal effect primarily affects skew motion, whereas gyroscopic effect mainly influences tilt motion. Axial forces exert greater influence on roller skew than tilt. The flange typically constrains roller skew, whereas both raceways may induce bidirectional tilt/skew motion.