The CARB® toroidal roller bearing being clamped prior to heating.

Big Challenges - Big Solutions

Simulation and calculation tool solves problems.

To ensure the bearing system’s performance requirements, SKF developed its own simulation tool—BEAST—or BEAring Simulation Toolbox. BEAST is a dynamic simulation program that serves as a virtual test rig in the computer. Traditional methods of long and costly experiments on a test rig are replaced by faster and more detailed computer simulations. The program was first used in the development of the SKF line of CARB® bearings, and again in smaller-sized CARB® bearings to evaluate how the inclined shaft in the 5M would influence bearing behavior. The 5M’s bearing, with its 1.5-meter inside diameter, weighs 2,700 kg and is the largest of its type ever manufactured by SKF. How a bearing of such magnitude would affect an inclined shaft was an unknown in the early stages of the design process, but the finished product represents beyond-the-envelope bearing design. Because of the bearing size and mounting, further development requiring FEM calculations was needed to determine the interference fit on the hollow cast iron rotor shaft.