Multi-body contact modeling and statistical experimental validation for hub-bearing unit

A multi-body contact FEM model is initially established to simulate an internal stress distribution of the flexible hub-bearing system. It reveals that several peak load/stress values appear on the bearing raceway along its circumference, which is different from the conventional cosine curve distribution. Based on the simulation, hub-bearing unit performance was analyzed and its failure modes were predicted. Asymmetry of stress distribution demonstrates strong coupling effect with rigidity distribution of the flexible surrounding structure. Consequently, this will result in several typical failure modes for given load conditions. In this paper, the failure characteristics of the same type of 600 sets of failed hub-bearing units were statistically analyzed and compared with the simulation result. This comparison confirms that the FEM modeling is a potential approach to optimize the main geometrical parameters of the hub-bearing system, taking specific external load, friction, and heating into account.