The images show two deformed shapes of a shaft with a bearing fixture. A vertical remote load is applied at one side. A bearing connector is applied on a split cylindrical face of the shaft.
When the Allow self-alignment option is selected, the cylindrical face of the bearing connector rotates off its axis. When the option is cleared, the cylindrical face is restricted from off-axis rotation and moments develop at the cylindrical face.
The behavior of the shaft shown below is the same for a bearing connector between the shaft and a housing. The magnitude of the stresses might be different. The bearing fixture assumes the housing to be rigid and immovable whereas the bearing connector assumes the housing to be flexible.
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| Allow self-alignment is selected.
The bearing is insensitive to angular misalignments of the shaft relative to the housing, and offers no resistance to a bending deformation of the shaft. The bearing connector is modeled using a very short spring-like element (10-5 m of length) that allows for stiffness in the axial and lateral directions. The spring-like elements is connected with rigid bars to the selected faces of the shaft and the housing.
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| Allow self-alignment is cleared.
The bearing connector is modeled with springs distributed radially and axially (within the housing boundary). These springs are projected from the surface of the shaft to the surface of the housing. |