Bearings

A bearing is the part of any machine that is used to reduce friction of a rotating
shaft or the friction between two moving surfaces. When the wheel was invented
two thousand years ago, it was mounted on an axel, and a bearing was used to
connect the wheel and the axel. There are two main types of bearings: plain
bearings and rolling element bearings.
A plain/journal bearing is a cylindrical sleeve that supports a rotating or sliding
shaft. The inner lining, called bushing, is usually made of metal softer than that of
the shaft so that any wear occurs in the replaceable bushing and not in the shaft.
A rolling element bearing is also called an anti-friction bearing, because the friction
created by this bearing is rolling friction rather than the sliding friction created by
the plain bearings. The rolling element bearing is a cylinder containing a moving
inner ring of steel balls or rollers.
Bearings may be used for radial loads, axial loads, or a combination of both. A radial
load is a load applied perpendicular to the axis of the shaft. Axial/thrust loads are
applied parallel to the axis of the shaft.

Plain bearing
A plain bearing is any bearing using a sliding action rather than a rolling action. It
may or may not need to be lubricated. Plain bearings are sometimes referred to as
journal or sleeve bearings.
Plain bearings are typically cylindrically-shaped bearings designed to carry radial
loads. The terms journal and sleeve are often used interchangeably: sleeve refers to
the general configuration, and journal refers to the part of the shaft in contact with
the bearing. Plain bearings may also be thrust bearings or thrust washers, because
they look like thin disc-like washers.
Plain bearings are categorised into three classes:
1. Class 1 bearing systems are lubricated from an outside source, for example, a
plain bearing using a liquid lubricant.
2. Class 2 bearing systems have internal lubrication, for example, porous
powder metal impregnated with oil that requires no outside lubrication.
3. Class 3 bearing systems have graphite, PTFE, or plastic bearings that require
no lubrication.

Common plain bearing materials

Babbitt
This is a widely used class 1 bearing. It is a lead- or tin-based alloy with copper and
antimony. These bearings provide dependable service, even in moist or chemical
environments. They are relatively soft and are good for low temperature (below
200F or 93C) at low speed applications.

Solid bronze
This is harder than Babbitt, and is used where higher temperatures (up to 300F or
149C) are required. Because it is harder, solid bronze can also damage shafts if not
properly lubricated.

Sintered bronze bearings

These are common class 2 bearings. They are made from a powdered bronze
composite and impregnated with oil. This oil is dispersed throughout the bearing
and is drawn to the area of sliding contact by a capillary action produced by the
heat and pressure of the shaft on the bearing surface. These bearings ca be
relubricated and operate at temperatures up to 200F or 93C.

Cast iron
Cast iron bearings are plain bearings used primarily for slow, light applications.
Their major advantages are their low cost, long life, and low or now maintenance
required. With slow speeds, they can be used with no outside lubrication, using the
self-lubricating quality of graphite present in the cast iron. Application temperatures
may be as high as 1000F or 538C.

Carbon
Carbon bearings may be lubricated or be used as a self-lubricating bearing. They
work well with temperatures up to 700F or 371C and have good chemical and
moisture resistance. Their main disadvantage is their low tolerance for dirty
environment and contaminants and their inability to handle shock loads because of
their brittleness.

Plastic
Plastic bearings require no lubrication. They have good wear resistance and have
long life. The most commonly used bearing plastics are:

Polypropylene
Polyethylene
Phenolic
Fluorocarbons

The large variety of plastic bearing materials offers many different combinations of
heat and chemical resistance.

Plain bearing lubrication

Plain bearings use hydrodynamic lubrication or hydrostatic lubrication.
Hydrodynamic lubrication uses the coating of the lubricant and the rotation
action of the shaft to keep the metal surfaces separated.
Hydrostatic lubrication uses an outside pressure source (for example an oil
pump) to keep a continuous stream of lubricant to separate moving metal surfaces.
Three modes of hydrodynamic lubrication in plain bearings:
1. Boundary lubrication: in this mode, only an extremely thin film of lubricant
is present to separate bearing surfaces.

2. Mixed-film lubrication: part of the bearing surface is supported by a

boundary film and part is supported by a full film of lubricant.
3. Full-film lubrication: a continuous thick film of lubrication separates moving
metal parts
When a plain bearing starts up, it goes through all 3 modes of lubrication. Before
start-up metal surfaces may contact each other. When rotation begins, boundary
lubrication starts. As the shaft increases speed, it passes through the mixed-film
mode of lubrication. When operational speed is obtained, hydrodynamic action
produces full-film lubrication in a well-designed application.
By using an outside pressure source for lubrication, hydrostatically lubricated
bearings will have full-film lubrication at any shaft speed. Hydrostatic lubrication is
commonly used to show slow rev/min and heavily loaded machinery. The
advantages of hydrostatic lubrication are that it is more efficient and has a longer
life. The main disadvantages of hydrostatic lubrication are the expense and
problems associated with having an external pumping system.

Rolling element bearings

Plain bearings rely solely on lubrication to reduce friction. Rolling element bearings
have balls or rollers to increase efficiency. Rolling friction is always less than sliding
friction. The following are the 3 basic types of rolling element bearings:
1. Ball bearings
2. Roller bearings
3. Needle bearings
There are 3 basic types of load that a bearing may be required to handle. In a radial
load, force is exerted at 90 to the shaft axis. In axial/thrust load, force is exerted
parallel to the shaft axis. In a combination load, both radial and axial loads are
present.
Different designs of ball and roller bearings can handle radial, axial and combination
loads. Needle bearings are useful for only radial and axial loads. A typical rolling
element bearing has inner and outer rings called races that are separated by balls
or rollers. These rolling elements are equally spaced by a separator called a retainer
or cage.

Ball Bearings
Ball bearings are manufactured in 3 basic configurations:
1. Single Row radial
2. Single row angular contact
3. Thrust Ball bearings

Single row radial bearings

The most common form of this type of ball bearing is non-filling slot. The race way
of this bearing has deep groves that can support high radial loads as well as axial
loads. It is not, however, intended for applications with axial loads only. The bearing
is not self-aligning, and accurate aligning between the shaft and bearing mounting

is required. The inner race way is located to give space to insert the bearing balls.
The balls are then equally spaced, and the bearing cage is installed to keep them in
place.

Single row angular contact ball bearing

The single row angular contact ball bearing is designed to accommodate up to
300% more axial (thrust) load than single row radial ball bearings. However,
because of its construction, this ball bearing can take axial loads in only one
direction. Mounting this bearing the wrong way results in a short bearing life.
Angular contact ball bearings are marked for correct information. The steep contact
angle of the race way on the inner race and on the opposite side on the outer race
ensures a high thrust capacity along with god radial loading capacities.

Thrust bearings
Thrust ball bearings are designed for application where only axial or thrust loads
occur. They cannot handle radial loads. This flat seat bearing is made up of two flat
washers, races, balls, and a cage. Contact stresses are high because of the small
contact area. Torque resistance is low and the shaft can flex or wander, because
there are no grooves to constrict movement. This type of thrust bearing is best
suited for light duty applications.