BEARINGS

Short History
• When the wheel was invented, it was mounted on
an axle, and where wheel and axle touched was a
bearing.

• Such early bearings had surfaces of wood or

leather lubricated with animal fat.

• The bearing system used in modern railroad cars

is essentially the same although wheel and axle
are made of steel.
What do you notice ?
Typical Process Pump

Section View of a Process Pump

25 MW Gas Turbine
 The Function of Bearings

Bearings are used to do the following jobs:

• Support the moving part
• Reduce friction between moving and stationary
machine parts
• Reduce wear
• Provide a replaceable wear surface.
 The Forces Acting on the Shaft
The main forces acting on the shaft and transferred to the bearing are:
• Radial forces ‑ acting at 90 to the shaft axis i.e. in radial direction
trying to move the shaft up or down or to left hand or to right hand
side.
• Axial (thrust) forces – acting parallel to the shaft axis (in the same
direction of shaft axis).
 Types of Bearings
• Plain bearings (sliding surfaces bearings)
 Types of Bearings
• Anti‑friction bearing (rolling element bearings)

Ball Bearing Roller Bearing Needle Bearing

Classification of Bearings with Respect to the load

• Radial load bearings

These can be controlled by using a slide surface bearing
(journal) as a radial bearing or anti-friction bearing (rolling
element bearings like roller or ball type).
• Axial load bearings
These can be controlled by using thrust bearings. The
thrust bearing could be a slide surface bearing, such as a
thrust bearing or rolling element bearing.
• A combination of axial and radial loads
These can be controlled by using tapered roller or
angular contact bearings. They do the work of radial
(journal) and thrust bearings.
 Plain Bearings
• A plain bearing is simply a sleeve that fits around a shaft.
Shafts and axles are always in contact with the surface of a
plain bearing. For this reason they produce sliding friction;
lubricant (oil or grease) is essential to minimize this friction.
• The name journal refers to the part of the shaft that is in
contact with the bearing.
• The lubricant not only lubricates and cools, but also locates the
shaft. When the shaft is turning it will not touch the bearing.

Sliding surface bearings (plain bearings or journal bearings) The shaft at rest position and at full speed
 Formation of the oil film between the shaft and
the bearing surface
When the shaft goes from the rest position to full running position, it goes through three steps:
• In the rest position, the shaft is supported on the bearing surface (metal-to-metal contact).
• As the shaft starts to rotate, the oil climbs up the surface of the shaft, in the direction
opposite to the rotation. The layer of oil on the shaft sticks to the surface and turns with it.
• As the oil is carried, the oil film between the shaft and the bearing starts gradually
separates the bearing surfaces in a continuous layer (the following figure). This keeps
going until the shaft reaches the full running speed.
 Split Bearings
• Are used where it is
difficult to install
standard bearings.
• There is usually less
to take apart to
replace split bearings.
• They are held in place
by a bearing cap.
• Split bearings are
commonly used in
reciprocating engines
and on compressor
crankshafts
 Bearing Clearance
• The clearance between the split bearing and the shaft can be measured by using a
plastic‑gauge or a lead wire.
• This is done by first removing the bearing cap, and then a thin strip of plastic‑gauge is
placed along the shaft journal.
• The cap is replaced and the bolts are torqued (tightened).
• When the cap is removed the width of the compressed plastic‑gauge can be measured
with the gauge provided.
• The clearance can be obtained from a chart using the width of the plastic‑gauge
 Anti‑friction Bearings
Anti‑friction bearings consist of the following four basic items:
• The inner race which is a light press fit on the shaft. It is fixed to the shaft and
rotates with it as one piece
• The precision ground balls or rollers (rolling element)
• The cage (or the separator) that keeps the balls or rollers equally spaced
• The outer race which is a light press fit into the bearing housing
 The Function of the Bearing Components
• The bearing races
The bearing races are the parts of the bearing that touch the machinery parts. They keep
the balls or rollers in position but allow them to move freely.
• The inner race
Fixed to the shaft and rotates with it. It transfers the load from the shaft to the rolling
elements.
• The rolling elements
They roll freely between the two races and transmit the load from the inner race to the
outer race.
• The outer race
It is fixed to the bearing housing and does not rotate. It provides a track for rolling
elements to run and transfer the load to the bearing housing.
• The separator (or the cage)
•Distribute the balls or rollers evenly around the circumference of the bearing and
prevent the balls or rollers from touching one another
•Keep the whole set of bearings together when you are assembling bearings that can
be dismantled

The cage (separator) Solid cage

 Ball Bearings
•There are four basic types
of ball bearing
• Single row deep groove radial
bearings: mainly used to
support radial loads and slight
axial load
• Single row angular contact
bearings: used to support both
radial loads, and thrust loads in
one direction
• Double row angular contact
bearings: used to support both
radial and thrust loads in both
directions
• Thrust bearings: constructed to
accept axial loads in one
direction only

The four types of ball bearings

 Cylindrical Roller Bearings

• Cylindrical roller bearing is designed to take heavier loads than

a ball bearing, but the sliding friction is greater.
• Roller bearings are made in the same way as a ball bearing,
except the shape of the rolling element is different.
• The main roller forms are:

Basic types of roller bearings

 Cylindrical Roller
• The rolling element is either roller or cylindrical in shape and rolls in a flat
raceway.
• Cylindrical rollers allow maximum support for the radial load, but no support
for the thrust load

double row, double row,

NNU design NN design

four rows
 Tapered Roller
• Tapered roller shaped in the form of a cone, which forms
angular contact points.
• Tapered rollers can support heavy radial loads and moderate
thrust loads in one direction only.

double row double row

single row four row
(back-to-back (face-to-face)
 Spherical Roller
• Spherical roller also called a barrel roller.
• It has a curved contact surface that fits into a concave
raceway, producing two angular points of contact.
• It provides large load support, but only a little thrust support in
either direction.
• Spherical roller can have double or single rows of rollers.

open basic design with contact seals

 Needle Bearings
• Needle bearings can come with or without a cage to separate the rollers.
• They have more rollers in contact with the shaft, and there is sometimes
no inner race, or sometimes no outer race.
• They can support very heavy radial loads, but not thrust loads.
• They are also stronger than plain roller bearings

•The two main advantages of needle bearings are

•They support heavier radial loads.
•They take up less space.
•A common use for needle bearings is when one
shaft must rotate within another shaft

open basic design with a contact seal without an inner ring with an inner ring
Self-Aligning Ball and Roller Bearings
• Alignment of a ball or roller bearing depends on accurate machining
and assembly.
• Sometimes this is not possible due to the design of the equipment and
operating conditions.
• In these situations self‑aligning bearings are used to provide proper
shaft support.
• They are designed to align themselves automatically with the shaft.

with a cylindrical or tapered bore with an extended inner ring

 Bearing Mountings
• Bearings can be fixed in position and supported by bearing mountings.
• Bearing mountings are used when it is important that the bearing is held
in accurate alignment with the shaft's axis.

Pillow block Flange mountings

Pillow block: used to secure the Flange mountings: used to secure

bearing to a surface that is the bearing to a surface that is
parallel with the shaft's axis. perpendicular to the shaft’s axis
 Bearing Mountings
Integral mountings

Take-up mounting

Take‑up mountings:
used when the bearing
Integral mountings: position is variable.
the bearing holder is
part of the machine,
and is held in place
with a lock ring.
 Bearing Lubrication
There are three different designs of the bearings:
• Open type: there is no cover (shield) on any side.
• Double shield (or double sealed): there are two covers (shields) on
both sides.
• Single shield: there is one cover on one side, the other side is open.

Double shield bearing Bearing lubrication with oil ring

Sealed bearings do not need lubrication from an externally.

Lubrication method is applied only for open bearings, without shield.
Bearing Installation
 Installation of Bearings by Heating

• This installation method is never to be used in either of the following cases:

• Double sealed (double Shield) bearings: the heating process will destroy the
lubricant in the bearing. After installation the bearing will run without lubrication.
• Bearing with non-metallic separator (cage): the heating process will destroy the non-
metallic cage and accelerate its failure.

The amount of heating required depends on the bearing size.

The maximum temperature should not be more than 120C.
Incorrect Mounting of Bearings
 Removing Bearings
Bearings can be removed by three different methods:
• Using either mechanical or hydraulic pullers
• Using either mechanical or hydraulic presses
• Using a hammer and proper driver
Other Removal Methods
Correct Puller Applications
Correct and Incorrect Hydraulic Press
Applications to Remove the Bearings