Design Consideration for a Sensor-Integrated Roller Bearing

This paper presents the design considerations for the development of a sensor-integrated double-row tapered roller bearing with self-diagnostic capabilities. The design of such a “smart” bearing is achieved by modifying the outer raceway of the bearing to accommodate a slot in which force and temperature sensors as well as data-processing microelectronics are integrated. The design is validated numerically by conducting finite element analysis to determine the effect of the slot geometry on the stress and deflection variations inside the bearing. The analysis computed the static and dynamic loading limits for a roller bearing with 10% - 50% of the outer raceway thickness being removed. The results showed that the introduction of a slot into the bearing raceway will not cause significant increase in stress and deflection for up to 40% reduction in the outer raceway thickness. Hence, it is feasible to implement the sensor integration technique for a better monitoring of potential bearing failures.