Experimental Study of Load Sharing in Roller-Bearing Contact by Caustics and Photoelasticity

Problem statement: In this study a comprehensive methodology for calculating load sharing in Roller-bearing contact was presented based on the experimental stress-optical method of caustics and Photoelasticity. Approach: The theoretical equations describing the geometry of transmitted caustic in relation to the length of the contact zone were derived and a simple mathematical set of equations correlating the maximum diameter of transmitted caustic with the magnitude of load was given.For this contact problem, the basic theory of photoelasticity was given. Results: The techniques of caustics and photoelasticity were applied on a set of PMMA (Plexiglas) Roller-bearings and on a set of PCBA (Lexan) Roller-bearings, respectively. Conclusion: The proposed method of the caustics is a reliable alternative for measuring load distribution in Roller-bearings compared to photoelasticity technique.