A spherical roller thrust bearing is a rolling-element bearing of thrust type that permits rotation with low friction, and permits angular misalignment. The bearing is designed to take radial loads, and heavy axial loads in one direction. Typically these bearings support a rotating shaft in the bore of the shaft washer that may be misaligned in respect to the housing washer. The misalignment is possible due to the spherical internal shape of the house washer
Spherical roller thrust bearings consist of a shaft washer (for radial bearings often called "inner ring"), a housing washer (for radial bearings often called "outer ring"), asymmetrical rollers and a cage There are also bearing units available that can take axial loads in two directions.
The spherical roller thrust bearing was introduced by SKF in 1939.The design of the early bearings is similar to the design that is still in use in modern machines.
Section view of a spherical roller thrust bearing.The internal design of the bearing is not standardised by ISO, so it varies between different manufacturers and different series.