Stochastic Characterization of Macro- and Microerrors of Journal Bearing Roundness

Abstract

A new approach for the characterization of form error and surface roughness of round bearings is presented. The method employs the theory of random function excursions to describe the macro- and microerrors of the round surface in both radial and circumferential directions. The mathematical principle of the measuring technique is given, and it is shown that an accurate description of the roundness can be obtained from the knowledge of the intercept probabilities of the crest and valley excursions of the surface trace about a given reference circle. Based on the mathematical model, new indices for the characterization of journal bearing roundness are proposed. These indices are computed directly from data obtained from commercially available roundness measuring devices. A number of experiments were performed to justify the validity of the proposed roundness indices. Roundness measurements were carried out on a number of differently machined cylinders using a specially equipped measuring device (Talyrond 51) with a link to a hybrid computer EAI-690. The theoretically computed indices compared favorably with the measurements made on the actual round surfaces.