Understanding Spherical Roller Bearings and Spherical Roller Thrust Bearings
Spherical roller bearings are designed to handle heavy radial and axial loads in both directions. Their key features include:
- Self-Aligning Capability: Accommodates misalignment between the shaft and housing, reducing stress on the bearing.
- High Load Capacity: Supports heavy radial loads and moderate axial loads.
- Robust Construction: Typically used in harsh environments like mining, paper mills, and construction equipment.
These bearings are ideal for applications where shaft deflection or misalignment is a concern.
KZ Spherical Roller Thrust Bearings
Spherical roller thrust bearings are specifically designed to handle heavy axial loads while allowing some misalignment. Their characteristics include:
- Axial Load Support: Primarily handles thrust (axial) loads but can also accommodate radial loads to some extent.
- Self-Aligning Design: Compensates for shaft misalignment, similar to spherical roller bearings.
- Common Applications: Used in gearboxes, marine propulsion systems, and heavy machinery like cranes and extruders.
KEY DIFFERENCE
|
Feature |
Spherical Roller Bearing |
Spherical Roller Thrust Bearing |
|
Load Type |
Designed to handle combined loads—primarily radial loads along with moderate axial (thrust) loads in both directions. |
Specifically designed for axial (thrust) loads with the capacity to support some radial load, but radial load handling is secondary. |
|
Alignment |
Features a self-aligning design with two rows of barrel-shaped rollers running in separate raceways, allowing compensation for shaft misalignment or flexing. |
Also self-aligning, due to the spherical raceway in the housing washer, allowing for angular misalignment. Especially useful in systems with shaft deflection or mounting issues. |
|
Internal Design |
Composed of two rows of asymmetrical or symmetrical rollers guided by a cage, seated between an inner ring with two raceways and a common outer spherical raceway. |
Has one row of rollers arranged obliquely, with a housing washer (outer race) that has a spherical raceway, and a shaft washer (inner race) with a flat or spherical surface. |
|
Direction of Load |
Handles loads in both radial and axial directions. However, axial load capacity is limited compared to thrust-specific bearings. |
Optimized to handle axial loads primarily, usually in one direction (though some variants support bidirectional thrust), and limited radial loads. |
|
Speed Capability |
Generally supports higher rotational speeds due to its design and load distribution. |
Typically supports lower rotational speeds compared to radial bearings due to the heavy axial load and the geometry of the contact surfaces. |
|
Applications |
Used in heavy-duty industrial machinery such as: gearboxes, mining equipment, paper mills, crushers, and vibrating screens where both radial and axial loads are present. |
Used in equipment like vertical shafts, marine propulsion systems, crane hooks, and thrust positioners where axial thrust is dominant, and some radial support is acceptable. |
## Conclusion
Both bearings offer self-aligning capabilities, but their load-handling capacities differ. Spherical roller bearings are best for combined radial and axial loads, while spherical roller thrust bearings excel in high axial load scenarios. Choosing the right one depends on your machinery’s load and alignment requirements.