LAUSR

Abstract The main no-load power loss source of a rear axle is the pre-loaded pinion tapered roller bearings, as concluded in a previous work. Therefore, the pinion roller bearings torque loss was studied in detail, where the influence of several parameters was considered, such as, the starting torque of the pinion tapered roller bearings, the oil level, the lubricant viscosity and the rotational speed. Due to the nature of the assembly of the pinion shaft assembly, pre-load in the tapered roller bearings is difficult to measure, however the starting torque of this assembly can be easily measured. For this reason, in this work a rolling bearing torque loss empirical equation was developed, where it uses as input parameters the starting torque, the oil dynamic viscosity, operating speed and the rolling bearing mean diameter and width.