Exploring Commonly Used Types of Aerospace Bearings

Posted on April 17, 2025 arron webb Aerospace

Many aerospace systems rely on highly engineered components that need to function reliably under extreme stress, temperature, and motion conditions to perform optimally and facilitate flight. A solution for this are components known as bearings—mechanical elements that reduce friction between moving parts, support rotating assemblies, and enable smooth motion throughout complex systems. This blog will explore several commonly used aerospace bearing types, examining their functionality, construction, and application across various aircraft and spacecraft.

Ball Bearings

Ball bearings are commonly used in aerospace systems with their ability to support both radial and axial loads while maintaining relatively low levels of friction. Their spherical rolling elements are housed within a raceway to enable smooth rotation with limited surface contact, which helps minimize wear during extended high-speed operation. These bearings are also often constructed from materials like stainless steel to provide resistance to corrosion and reduce the risk of thermal degradation in challenging aerospace environments.

Roller Bearings

In contrast to ball bearings, most roller bearings use cylindrical rolling elements that generate broader surface contact to enhance their capacity to handle elevated radial loads. Aerospace applications requiring heavy-duty support, such as turbine engines and landing gear, often implement roller bearings for their resistance to deformation under compressive forces. These bearings also perform well in a wide range of low-speed, high-impact environments where shock absorption is often a key operational requirement.

Needle Bearings

Needle bearings are a subtype of roller bearing that feature long, narrow rollers that maximize load capacity within compact assemblies. Their reduced cross-section is particularly advantageous in space-constrained applications like actuator housings and flight control linkages, where they are capable of withstanding significant loads while contributing minimal additional weight to an aircraft.

Tapered Roller Bearings

Tapered roller bearings are specifically engineered to support radial and axial loads at the same time, as they feature conically shaped rollers and raceways to help maintain proper alignment under mechanical stress. This configuration makes them a frequently used option in many aircraft wheel assemblies, where multidirectional loading often occurs during takeoff and landing.

Spherical Bearings

Spherical bearings are designed to accommodate angular misalignment between connected components, a capability that is often crucial for systems like stabilizers that experience frequent dynamic motion. These bearings feature an inner ring with a spherical convex outer surface and corresponding outer ring, enabling a high degree of movement across multiple axes without diminishing structural integrity.

Plain Bearings

Also known as bushings, plain bearings are made to operate without rolling elements, instead depending on sliding contact between surfaces. This generally results in quieter performance and a more straightforward design. These bearings are commonly employed in applications where motion is occasional or involves back-and-forth movement, such as in flap and slat mechanisms.

Thrust Bearings

Thrust bearings are designed to support axial loads, making them well-suited for a wide variety of high-speed rotating components that produce forward or reverse thrust. For example, these components are commonly used in jet engines and helicopter rotors to manage the considerable axial forces that often arise during operation.

Hybrid Bearings

Hybrid bearings combine steel races with ceramic rolling elements, as this design can offer benefits like reduced weight, higher speed performance, and greater resistance to heat and electrical conductivity. In various electrical systems, hybrid bearings are often selected because traditional steel bearings may be more susceptible to premature wear or failure when subject to such environments.

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