Cage stability directly affects the dynamic performance of rolling bearing, which, in turn, affects the operating state of rotating equipment. The random collision between the rolling elements and the cage pocket is the main reason for cage instability. In this paper, from the perspective of the relative sliding velocity between the rolling elements and the bearing raceway, the interactions of the rolling elements and the cage pockets were analyzed, and the four zones with different collision features were defined. On this basis, and on the basis of the bearing dynamics model, the interaction of two adjacent rolling elements and the cage pockets in the a’–b’ area is discussed, and the peak impact force of the adjacent two balls and the cage pockets was investigated in terms of the rotation speed, radial load, acceleration/deceleration, and materials. When the ball runs close to the loaded zone, the probability of multiball random collision increases, which leads to an increase in the cage instability. At the entrance of the loaded zone, the peak impact force has the greatest impact on the cage stability during the acceleration process. Compared to the radial load applied to the bearing, the peak impact force is more sensitive to the bearing speed changes. The multiball collision analysis method provides a new idea for the research of cage stability.
Spindle stiffness is one of the most critical indicators for evaluating and measuring the service performance of spindles. The traditional static stiffness indexes only involve static analysis and rarely focus on the study of spindle-carrying capacity under operating conditions. In this paper, the explicit solution approach is used to develop a mechanical model of the spindle’s axial operating stiffness. This model was then used to explore the influence of rotational speed on the softening and hardening features of the spindle axial operating stiffness, and experimental verification was carried out. According to studies, the speed of a fixed-position preload spindle can lead its operating stiffness to exhibit a “stiffness-hardening” feature. However, when the axial displacement of the spindle is small, the operating stiffness curve of the spindle displays a noticeable “fluctuation” phenomenon for low-speed spindles. Furthermore, the speed-induced preload has a significant impact on the test results when testing spindle axial operating stiffness.
Due to the special structure of double-half inner rings, four-point contact ball bearings are prone to uneven forces in the inner raceway during movement, which affects the dynamic performance of the rolling element and cage, and even leads to cage sliding. Dynamic performance of the cage is an important factor affecting the working stability of bearings. In this paper, in order to grasp the operation law of the cage so as to guide the application of four-point contact ball bearings, the dynamic model of four-point contact ball bearings is established by the secondary development of Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems (ADAMS). The dynamic performance of the cage is analyzed and evaluated with the indexes of vortex radius ratio and vortex velocity deviation ratio of the cage centroid trajectory. The results show the following: the cage stability increases and then decreases to a certain degree with rotating speed-rise; it increases and then decreases with the increase in the pure axial load; under a combination of axial and radial load, the cage moves more smoothly with smaller radial force. Rotating speed has little effect on cage stability, while radial force has a great influence on cage stability, followed by axial load. In order to verify the simulation results, a test bench for rolling bearing cages is developed, and the accuracy of the simulation results is verified by the test results.
The complex sliding behavior inside ball bearings seriously affects the mechanical system’s performance. Current dynamic models for predicting this behavior suffer from poor generality and convergence. To address this issue, different interactions between the ball and raceway are proposed in this paper to simulate the dynamic behavior by analyzing the bearing assemblies’ motion features under typical operating conditions. The number of variables and equations to be solved is determined adaptively according to the bearing load characteristics, thus improving the efficiency and convergence of the model solution. The good agreement between simulation results and experimental test results validates the reliability of the model. The sliding behavior at the ball/raceway interface under different conditions is further investigated. The results show that the heavy external loads can avoid severe sliding at the interface but shorten the bearing’s fatigue. When the bearing is subjected to combined load conditions, the increased radial force inhibits bearing sliding while increasing the non-uniformity of the sliding velocity distribution.
Based on the mechanical model, the friction loss between the ball and the raceway along the major axis of the contact ellipse is analyzed. The result shows that this part of the loss accounts for about 13.67% of the overall loss, which is mainly determined by the ball sliding length and cannot be ignored. The effects of the radial force, torque, rotational speed and groove curvature ratio on the sliding are all studied. Compared with other factors, radial force has the greatest influence on the sliding loss. As bearing speed gradually grows, the sliding on the inner raceway gradually increases while it gradually decreases on the outer raceway. Compared to the outer raceway curvature ratio, the sliding length is less sensitive to changes in the curvature ratio of the inner raceway. The paper provides theoretical guidance for the design and application of low-friction bearings.
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