• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.51-57
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• 2000

An automotive wheel bearing is one of the most important components to guarantee the service life of a passenger car. The endurance lift of a bearing is affected by many parameters such as material properties, heat treatment, lubrication conditions, temperature, loading conditions, geometry, internal clearance and so on. Under the same geometry and loading conditions, the internal clearance is the most effective parameters on the endurance lift of a bearing. Generally, bearings have the longest lift with a little negative internal clearance. But it is very difficult to measure and modify the internal clearance after a wheel bearing is assembled. In this paper, we analyze the effect of an assembling procedure on the clearance of wheel bearings and suggest a method to determine optimal clearance for automotive wheel bearings by selecting initial bearing clearance.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.94-101
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• 2023

Automotive wheel bearings are a critical component of vehicles that support their weight and facilitate rotation. Life and stiffness are significant performance characteristics of wheel bearings. Designing wheel bearings involves finding optimal design variables that satisfy both performances. CO₂ emission reduction and fuel efficiency regulations attribute to the recent increase in design requirements for lightweight and compact automotive parts while maintaining performance. However, achieving a design that maintains performance while reducing weight poses challenges, as performance and weight are generally inversely proportional. In this study, we perform design optimization of automotive wheel bearings considering life and stiffness. We develop a program that calculates the basic rated life and modified rated life based on international standards for evaluating the life of wheel bearings. We develop a regression equation using regression analysis to address the time-consuming stiffness analysis during repetitive analysis. We perform ANOVA and main effect analyses to understand the statistical characteristics of the developed regression equation. Furthermore, we verify its reliability by comparing the predicted and test results. We perform design optimization using the developed life prediction program, stiffness regression equation and weight regression equation. We select bearing specifications and geometry as design variables, weight as the cost function, and life and stiffness as constraints. Through design optimization, we investigate the influence of design variables on the cost function and constraints by comparing the initial and optimal design values.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2018

Modern high-performance automotive turbochargers (TCs) implement ceramic hybrid angular contact ball bearings in series with squeeze film dampers (SFDs) to enhance transient responses, thereby reducing the overall emission levels. The current study predicts the rotordynamic responses of the commercial automotive TCs (compressor wheel diameter = ~53 mm, turbine wheel diameter = ~43 mm, and shaft diameter at the bearing locations = ~7 mm) supported on ball bearings and SFDs for various design parameters of SFDs, including radial clearance, axial length, lubricant viscosity, and rotor imbalance conditions (i.e., amplitudes and phase angles) while increasing rotor speed up to 150 krpm. This study validates the predictive rotor finite element model against measurements of mass, polar and transverse moments of inertia, and free-free mode natural frequencies and mode shapes. A nonlinear rotordynamic model integrates nonlinear force coefficients of SFDs to calculate the transient responses of the TC rotor-bearing system. The predicted results show that SFD radial clearances, as well as phase angles of rotor imbalances, have the paramount effect on the dynamic responses of TC shaft motions.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.267-273
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• 2019

Wheel bearings are important automotive parts that bear the vehicle weight and translate rotation motion; in addition, their seals are components that prevent grease leakage and foreign material from entering from the outside of the bearings. Recently, as the need for electric vehicles and eco-friendly vehicles has been emerging, the reduction in fuel consumption and $CO_2$ emissions are becoming the most important issues for automobile manufacturers. In the case of wheel bearings, seals are a key part of drag torque. In this study, we investigate the prediction of the drag torque taking into consideration the hyperelastic and viscoelastic material properties of automotive wheel bearing seals. Numerical analysis based on the finite element method is conducted for the deformation analyses of the seals. To improve the reliability of the rubber seal analysis, three types of rubber material properties are considered, and analysis is conducted using the hyperelastic material properties. Viscoelastic material property tests are also conducted. Deformation analysis considering the hyperelastic and viscoelastic material properties is performed, and the effects of the viscoelastic material properties are compared with the results obtained by the consideration of the hyperelastic material properties. As a result of these analyses, the drag torque is 0.29 Nm when the hyperelastic characteristics are taken into account, and the drag torque is 0.27 Nm when both the hyperelastic and viscoelastic characteristics are taken into account. Therefore, it is determined that the analysis considering both hyperelastic and viscoelastic characteristics must be performed because of its reliability in predicting the drag torque of the rubber seals.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.137-143
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• 2008

For most bearings, it is a common requirement to have long durability. Especially wheel bearing fatigue life is the most important in automotive quality. The contact fatigue life analysis of automotive wheel bearing considering real raceway rough surface is presented in this paper. Contact stresses are obtained by contact analysis of a semi-infinite solid based on the use of influence functions; the subsurface stress field is obtained using rectangular patch solutions. Mesoscopic multiaxial fatigue criterion which can yield satisfactory results for non-proportional loading is then applied to predict fatigue damage. Suitable counting method and damage rule were used to calculate the fatigue life of random loading caused by rough surface. The life analysis considering real rough surface of wheel bearing raceway is in good agreement with the experimental results.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.275-280
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• 2011

Automotive wheel bearing grease helps to reduce stresses and prevent wear of wheel bearings. But it is easily contaminated by water and other contaminants. In this study, we investigated the property change of automotive wheel bearing grease under water contamination. The result showed that some properties such as dropping point, work penetration and oxidation stability were not influenced by water content. However, most of properties such as work stability, water washout characteristics, leakage tendency, oil separation, evaporation loss and rust protection became worse after water was added. This is thought that added water makes the interaction weak between thickener and base oil of grease.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.670-673
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• 2002

Automotive wheel bearings are one of the most important components to guarantee the service life of a passenger car. The endurance life of a bearing is affected by many parameters such as material properties, heat treatment, lubrication conditions, temperature, loading conditions, bearing geometry, internal clearance and so on. In this paper, we analyze the relation between loads and deformations of wheel bearing units. On the basis of it we calculate the endurance life of wheel bearing units and analyze the contribution of bearing geometric parameters on the endurance life by using Taguchi method.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.122-130
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• 2001

In order to improve the efficiency of the design process and the quality of the resulting design, this study proposes a design method for determining design variables of an automotive wheel-bearing unit of double-row angular-contact ball bearing type by using a genetic algorithm. The desired performance of the wheel-bearing unit is to maximize system life while satisfying geometrical and operational constraints without enlarging mounting spae. The use of gradient-based optimization methods for the design of the unit is restricted because this design problem is characterized by the presence of discrete design variables such as the number of balls and standard ball diameter. Therefore, the design problem of rolling element bearings is a constrained discrete optimization problem. A genetic algorithm using real coding and dynamic mutation rate is used to efficiently find the optimum discrete design values. To effectively deal with the design constraints, a ranking method is suggested for constructing a fitness function in the genetic algorithm. A computer program is developed and applied to the design of a real wheel-bearing unit model to evaluate the proposed design method. Optimum design results demonstrate the effectiveness of the design method suggested in this study by showing that the system life of an optimally designed wheel-bearing unit is enhanced in comparison with that of the current design without any constraint violations.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.595-602
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• 2016

An automotive wheel bearing is important part that translates rotating motion and bears vehicle weight. Recently, in accordance with the demands for $CO_2$ emission reduction and fuel economy regulation, the requirements for the weight reduction and miniaturization of vehicles has increased. Therefore, life evaluation technology of the bearings has increased in necessity. Since the bearing life is affected by many parameters such as bearing geometry, bearing specifications, and vehicle specifications, it is difficult to predict. In this paper, the bearing life was tested by varying the applied load and rotation speed and comparing them with the basic rating life and modified rating life that were suggested in ISO standards. From the results, it was found that there was a difference between the test life and theoretical life and modified rating life than basic rating life was to be relatively well predicted by test life.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.230-237
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• 2000

The wheel bearing in vehicles has been improved to unit module by joining a bearing to a hub in order to achieve weight reduction and easy assembly. Currently, the contact force between a raceway and balls of a bearing is applied as the external force in order to analyse the structure of the unit type bearings. In this paper, simplified boundary conditions are discussed for structure analysis of wheel bearing unit. From the procedure, the contact conditions of balls and race in wheel bearing unit are considered as equivalent non-linear spring elements. The end node of a spring element is constrained in displacement. And the external force of boundary conditions is applied at the contact point between tire and road. For the evaluation of this analysis, its results for the force of spring elements are compared with contact forces of calculated results. and also maximum equivalent stresses of analysis are compared with results of test at the flange of inner ring. The analysis results with proposed boundary conditions are more accurate than results from analysis which is generally used.