Applying FEM to the Design of Automotive Bearings

Bearing designers have expanded their use of advanced Finite Element Method (FEM) as a result of improvements in computer hardware and software. Automotive bearing designers increasingly apply Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to the design of integrated automotive bearing products which tend to evolve gradually into sophisticated components. FEA is an effective tool that enables NSK to develop and supply high quality and extremely reliable products to its automotive customers on time. Bearings encounter many contact problems. To make an accurate model of the contact area is a crucial step in FEM. Comparison of actual test data and FEA data contributes to the refinement of the FEM contact model. Contact FEA enables design optimization, weight reduction, and design convergence to boundary and critical conditions. This paper describes the current status of FEA in bearing design at NSK and discusses practical applications such as hub unit bearings and V-ribbed pulleys.