Roller Thrust Bearings and Their Types

Roller Thrust Bearings

Bearings are a kind of engineering equipment. There are many varieties of it. One such is roller thrust bearing. Here is a short description of it.

What is a thrust bearing?

A thrust bearing is a particular type of rotary bearing. Like other bearings, they permanently rotate between parts, but they are designed to support a predominantly axial load. There are several types of thrust bearings. Here is a description of roller thrust bearings.

Different types of roller thrust bearings

There are four types of roller thrust bearings in general. Here is a description of about one of them.

Cylindrical roller thrust bearings: Cylindrical roller thrust bearings consist of small cylindrical rollers arranged flatly with their axes pointing to the axis of the bearing. They give a very good carrying capacity and are cheap.

Tapered roller thrust bearings: It consists of small tapered rollers arranged so that all their axes converge at a point on the axis of the bearing. The length of the roller and the diameter of the wide and the narrow ends and the angle of rollers are calculated to provide the correct taper so that each end of the roller rolls smoothly on the bearing face without slipping. These types of thrust roller bearings are most commonly used in automotive applications to support the wheels of a motor car where they are used in pairs to accommodate axial thrust in either direction, as well as radial loads. They can support greater thrust loads than the ball type due to the larger contact area but are more expensive to manufacture.

Spherical roller thrust bearings: Spherical roller thrust bearings use asymmetrical rollers of spherical shape, rolling inside a house washer with a raceway with spherical inner shape. They can accommodate combined radial and axial loads and also accommodate misalignment of the shafts. They are often used together with radial spherical roller bearings. Spherical roller thrust bearings offer the highest load rating density of all thrust bearings.

Applications of cylindrical roller thrust bearings

Cylindrical roller thrust bearings can be used in a variety of ways. Here is a description of some of the applications of cylindrical roller thrust bearings.

Cylindrical roller bearings are used in mining, petroleum production, power generation, power transmission, cement processing, aggregate crushing, and metal recycling.

Applications of tapered roller thrust bearings

It is ideal for machines that need to carry heavy loads. It is also found here radial loads are important and high rotational speed is required. Tapered roller bearings are essential in various industries such as agriculture, construction, mining, engines, etc.

Applications of spherical roller thrust bearings

Spherical bearings are used in countless industrial applications, where there are heavy loads, moderate speeds, and possibly misalignment. Some common applications of it are gearboxes, wind turbines.