Estimation of Hydraulic Power Losses in a Double-Row Tapered Roller Bearing via Computational Fluid Dynamics

To enhance the bearings’ efficiency, it is essential to determine and quantify the sources of power loss in the design stage. In oil-lubricated bearings, load-independent power losses ( $$P_{LB_0}$$ ) can be a significant factor in energy dissipation. This study examines the $$P_{LB_0}$$ of a double-row Tapered Roller Bearing (32312-A) under different operating conditions, namely various speeds, viscosities, and lubrication conditions, i.e. Feed Lubrication (FEED-L) and Full-Flooded Lubrication (FLO-L). In this respect, a numerical tool based on Computational Fluid Dynamics has been developed within the OpenFOAM® environment. Results highlight that the estimated $$P_{LB_0}$$ in FLO-L can be an order of magnitude higher than the ones evaluated in FEED-L. The $$P_{LB_0}$$ in FEED-L are almost exclusively due to inertial effects (99%) and the $$P_{LB_0}$$ in FLO-L are for the 70% caused by viscous effects. Additionally, it has emerged that the lubricant viscosity has a huge impact on $$P_{LB_0}$$ for both lubrication conditions. For instance, in the studied configurations, doubling the viscosity can lead to an increase of up to 180% for FEED-L and up to 500% for FLO-L. Moreover, in FEED-L, the flow rate has a significant effect on $$P_{LB_0}$$ ; on average, doubling the flow rate leads to an increase in $$P_{LB_0}$$ of more than 15%.