TY  - JOUR
AU  - Raptis, Konstandinos G. 
AU  - Papadopoulos, George A. 
AU  - Costopoulos, Theodore N. 
AU  - Tsolakis, Andonios D. 
PY  - 2011
TI  - Experimental Study of Load Sharing in Roller-Bearing Contact by Caustics and Photoelasticity
JF  - American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
VL  - 4
IS  - 2
DO  - 10.3844/ajeassp.2011.294.300
UR  - https://thescipub.com/abstract/ajeassp.2011.294.300
AB  - Problem statement: In this study a comprehensive methodology for calculating load
sharing in Roller-bearing contact was presented based on the experimental stress-optical method of
caustics and Photoelasticity. Approach: The theoretical equations describing the geometry of
transmitted caustic in relation to the length of the contact zone were derived and a simple
mathematical set of equations correlating the maximum diameter of transmitted caustic with the
magnitude of load was given.For this contact problem, the basic theory of photoelasticity was
given. Results: The techniques of caustics and photoelasticity were applied on a set of PMMA
(Plexiglas) Roller-bearings and on a set of PCBA (Lexan) Roller-bearings, respectively.
Conclusion: The proposed method of the caustics is a reliable alternative for measuring load
distribution in Roller-bearings compared to photoelasticity technique.