Thermal behavior in rolling bearing applications: Comparison of steel and ceramic materials applied to tapered rollers

Due to their properties, ceramic materials can improve both reliability and efficiency of rolling bearings. Most of the studies have investigated the power losses and temperatures of ball bearings with balls made of silicon nitride (Si3N4) versus steel ones. This study thus focuses on tapered rollers. Thanks to experimental and numerical means, the thermal behavior of tapered roller bearings is investigated for both steel and silicon nitride rollers. Various operating conditions (rotational speed, oil flow rate and oil temperature) are tested to allow the comparison of the behavior of both bearing set-ups (full-steel and hybrid). A thermal model is developed according to the thermal network method and is validated thanks to experimental results. It is then used to analyze behaviors observed during experiments, related to thermal exchanges and power losses. The effect of changing the mechanical and thermal properties of the roller material is investigated.