Finite Element Analysis of Squirrel Cage Ball Bearingsfor Gas Turbine Engines

Squirrel cage ball bearings are used in recent aero engines to overcome the vibration andstability problems associated with rotor systems supported by conventional bearings. The criticaldesign feature of squirrel cage bearing is to provide flexible support to rotor system. The outerring of the bearing is configured such that it acts as a flexible bearing support, and hence, weightis minimised. The bearing is mounted directly on a rigid intermediate casing of a gas turbineengine. Finite element analysis helps to obtain a suitable geometry at the design stage. A 3-Dmodel of the bearing is created using IDEAS software. Finite element analysis using contactelement has been carried out for finding the deformation and stresses in the webs at variouslocations using ANSYS software. The deformations are compared with those of experimentalvalues for an axial load. The deformation in the webs is used to check the pressure balance inthe compressor and the load acting on the bearing. Finally, a procedure for doing the finiteelement analysis of ball bearings for combined axial and radial load is laid down.