The Effect of Waviness Error on the Power Loss of the Planet Bearing

The power loss of planet bearings can affect the energy efficiency of planetary gear transmission systems. Although many works studied the power loss of various planet bearings, the effect of the waviness error on the power loss of the planet bearings was missed. To overcome this problem, an analytical model of the power loss of a planet bearing with the waviness error is proposed. The power loss of the planet bearing caused by the elastic material hysteresis, differential slipping, and lubricating oil viscosity is considered in this model. The results from the proposed model and experiment in the reference are compared to show the model validation. The effects of the pinion bore diameter, input speed, external moment, waviness amplitude, and waviness order on the power loss of the planet bearing are analyzed. It shows that this study can give a useful method to predict the power loss of the planet bearing with and without the waviness error. Moreover, the results can also give some guidance to reduce the power loss and improve the fatigue life of the planet roller bearings.