Angular misalignment, defined as the tilted angle between the outer ring and inner ring, is unavoidable in most applications of tapered roller bearings (TBRs) due to many potential causes such as shaft deflection, initial mounting error, bearing geometry inaccuracy, etc. The occurrence of TRB misalignment introduces considerable changes into the contact load and the pressure between rolling elements and the raceways and, thus, greatly influences the bearing life. However, few research results are available on the effects of angular misalignment in TRBs. This paper presents the fatigue life analysis for TRBs with consideration for angular misalignment effects. To this end, a mathematical TRB model is developed to provide a comprehensive fatigue life analysis for TRBs subjected to angular misalignment. The presented model is verified by comparing the estimated fatigue lives under several loading conditions with those from a reference program. Then, the effects of angular misalignment on the fatigue life of TRBs are evaluated systematically. The simulation results show the importance of TRB alignment for the investigated TRB by demonstrating that small amount of angular misalignment leads to a substantial reduction in the fatigue life of the TRB regardless of loading conditions. The results address the necessity of misalignment effects analysis for TRBs.
