Silicon Nitride Rolling Bearings for Extreme Operating Conditions

Bhushan, Bharat; Sibley, L. B.

doi:10.1080/05698198208983110

Cited by 83 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…It has been proved that hybrid bearings have a longer rolling contact fatigue life than conventional full steel ball/roller bearings when running at high-speed [1], but not at low or moderate speed conditions [2]. However, experiments carried out by Wan et al [3] and Kahlman and Hutchings [4] show that hybrid bearings can perform better and have longer rolling contact fatigue life even in the low and moderate speed ranges when in highly contaminated oil or grease lubrication conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Experimental Study of the Smoothing Effect of a Ceramic Rolling Element on a Bearing Raceway in Contaminated Lubrication

Wang

Wong

et al. 2007

Tribol Lett

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The effects of steel and ceramic rolling elements on protrusions from the raceway of a bearing were experimentally investigated. Such protrusions, which are normally caused by solid contaminants in the lubricating oil, create stress concentrations and lead to a reduction in the rolling contact fatigue life of the bearing. To compare the overrolling effects of steel and ceramic rollers, experiments with steel discs with artificial dents on the surfaces were performed using a modified twin-disc machine. The results show that ceramic rollers can reduce the height of the protruded edge of an artificial dent more than steel rollers, which means that they are more effective in smoothing a damaged surface. The stresses at the contact were calculated by finite element analysis based on the deformed profile of the dented surface. The reduction in the stress level due to the smoothing effect of ceramic rollers is greater than that of steel rollers. According to the Lundberg-Palmgren bearing fatigue model, that smoothing ensures a significantly longer rolling contact fatigue life for a bearing. To put the idea into practice, a rolling ball bearing with two of its nine steel balls replaced with silicon nitride balls (referred to as a ''partial hybrid bearing'') was run, together with a full steel bearing of the same model, on a bearing tester in a highly contaminated lubrication condition. The results show that the partial hybrid bearing suffers from less damage in terms of wear. The postexperiment examination of the damaged surface of the bearing raceway found that the surface of the partial hybrid bearing was smoother than that of the full steel bearing. This reveals the smoothing effect of the rolling ceramic element on the contaminant-damaged bearing surface.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Experimental Study of the Smoothing Effect of a Ceramic Rolling Element on a Bearing Raceway in Contaminated Lubrication

Wang

Wong

et al. 2007

Tribol Lett

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“…The contact behavior between the indenter and the sample is assumed as compressive only with no tangential traction involved. This is because very low friction exists between the silicon nitride disc and the rigid ball when Exxon turbo oil 2380 is used at the contact surface [10].…”

Section: Experimental Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Hertzian fatigue cone crack propagation in ceramics

Hu¹,

Chen

Mecholsky

1996

Int J Fract

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The Hertzian cone crack initiation and propagation in ceramics under cyclic fatigue loading with a spherical indenter is studied. Unlike the so-called quasi-static Hertzian cone crack, the fatigue Hertzian cone crack propagation eliminates the dynamic effect on unstable crack propagation. As such, the crack is found to propagate following the path of pure mode I type. We use an elasticity approach, a finite element analysis, and an empirical analysis to investigate the Hertzian cone crack in three stages: crack initiation, crack propagation, and crack kinking. The mechanism of the multiple concentric cone cracks is also explained. The purpose is to understand and predict the behavior of the formation of the Hertzian fatigue cone crack using available modeling tools.

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“…This bearing offers several advantages over all-steel bearing and has shown extended rolling contact life [1][2][3]. Hybrid bearings have shown promising results when operated in cryogenic fluids such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen, as conditions required for high-speed turbo pumps in rocket engine for space applications [4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%