scholarly journals Fatigue Life of High-Speed Ball Bearings With Silicon Nitride Balls

1975 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Parker ◽  
E. V. Zaretsky

Hot-pressed silicon nitride was evaluated as a rolling-element bearing material. This material has a low specific gravity (41 percent that of bearing steel) and has a potential application as low mass balls for very high-speed ball bearings. The five-ball fatigue tester was used to test 12.7-mm- (0.500-in-) dia silicon nitride balls at maximum Hertz stresses ranging from 4.27 × 109 N/m2 (620,000 psi) to 6.21 × 109 N/m2 (900,000 psi) at a race temperature of 328K (130 deg F). The fatigue life of NC-132 hot-pressed silicon nitride was found to be equal to typical bearing steels and much greater than other ceramic or cermet materials at the same stress levels. A digital computer program was used to predict the fatigue life of 120-mm- bore angular-contact ball bearings containing either steel or silicon nitride balls. The analysis indicates that there is no improvement in the lives of bearings of the same geometry operating at DN values from 2 to 4 million where silicon nitride balls are used in place of steel balls.

1972 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Anderson ◽  
D. P. Fleming ◽  
R. J. Parker

The series-hybrid bearing couples a fluid-film bearing with a rolling-element bearing such that the rolling-element bearing inner race runs at a fraction of shaft speed. A series-hybrid bearing was analyzed and experiments were run at thrust loads from 100 to 300 lb and speeds from 4000 to 30,000 rpm. Agreement between theoretical and experimental speed sharing was good. The lowest speed ratio (ratio of ball bearing inner-race speed to shaft speed) obtained was 0.67. This corresponds to an approximate reduction in DN value of 1/3. For a ball bearing in a 3 million DN application, fatigue life would theoretically be improved by a factor as great as 8.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 489-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Fleming ◽  
J. V. Poplawski

Rolling-element bearing forces vary nonlinearly with bearing deflection. Thus an accurate rotordynamic transient analysis requires bearing forces to be determined at each step of the transient solution. Analyses have been carried out to show the effect of accurate bearing transient forces (accounting for nonlinear speed and load-dependent bearing stiffness) as compared to conventional use of average rolling-element bearing stiffness. Bearing forces were calculated by COBRA-AHS (Computer Optimized Ball and Roller Bearing Analysis—Advanced High Speed) and supplied to the rotordynamics code ARDS (Analysis of Rotor Dynamic Systems) for accurate simulation of rotor transient behavior. COBRA-AHS is a fast-running five degree-of-freedom computer code able to calculate high speed rolling-element bearing load-displacement data for radial and angular contact ball bearings and also for cylindrical and tapered roller bearings. Results show that use of nonlinear bearing characteristics is essential for accurate prediction of rotordynamic behavior.


1971 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold H. Coe ◽  
Richard J. Parker ◽  
Herbert W. Scibbe

An experimental investigation was performed with two series (115 and 215) of 75 mm bore ball bearings using hollow balls as the rolling elements. The bearings were tested at 500 and 1000 pounds thrust loads at shaft speeds up to 24000 rpm. The 115 series bearings with 1/2-in. SAE 52100 steel balls showed very little difference in torque, outer-race temperature, or rolling-element fatigue life when compared to similar data for a solid ball bearing. The 215 series bearings with 11/16-in. AISI M-50 steel balls showed only slight differences in torque and outer-race temperature but a very significant decrease in rolling-element fatigue life compared to a solid ball bearing. The balls failed in flexure fatigue, due to a stress concentration in the weld area.


2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Fleming ◽  
J. V. Poplawski

Rolling-element bearing forces vary nonlinearly with bearing deflection. Thus, an accurate rotordynamic analysis requires that bearing forces corresponding to the actual bearing deflection be utilized. For this work, bearing forces were calculated by COBRA-AHS, a recently developed rolling-element bearing analysis code. Bearing stiffness was found to be a strong function of bearing deflection, with higher deflection producing markedly higher stiffness. Curves fitted to the bearing data for a range of speeds and loads were supplied to a flexible rotor unbalance response analysis. The rotordynamic analysis showed that vibration response varied nonlinearly with the amount of rotor imbalance. Moreover, the increase in stiffness as critical speeds were approached caused a large increase in rotor and bearing vibration amplitude over part of the speed range compared to the case of constant-stiffness bearings. Regions of bistable operation were possible, in which the amplitude at a given speed was much larger during rotor acceleration than during deceleration. A moderate amount of damping will eliminate the bistable region, but this damping is not inherent in ball bearings.


2014 ◽  
Vol 658 ◽  
pp. 339-344
Author(s):  
Viorel Paleu ◽  
Ioan Damian ◽  
Cristel Stirbu

To monitor the friction torque evolution in tandems of angular contact ball bearings, a new testing device is developed. New partial hybrid bearings from 7206C series are obtained by combining 8 steel balls with 4 silicon nitride balls of the same diameter equally spaced in the cage, these bearings being denoted hereafter as 8S-4C type. For comparison, tests are carried-out also on conventional all-steel bearings and hybrid bearings with all the steel balls replaced by silicon nitride balls. The equilibrium temperature of the all-steel, hybrid and 8S-4C ball bearings is determined by tests. At high speed and light axial load, the 8S-4C ball bearings withstand to an oil shut-off test of one minute, while the similar all-steel bearings seized. The 8S-4C partial hybrid ball bearings can be an advantageous solution comparative to more expensive all hybrid bearings, avoiding the scuffing due to the self-healing effect induced by the higher hardness of the silicon nitride balls.


1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Bersch ◽  
Philip Weinberg

The feasibility of using hot-pressed silicon nitride (HPSN) for rolling elements and for races in ball bearings and roller bearings has been explored. HPSN offers opportunities to alleviate many current bearing problems including DN and fatigue life limitations, lubricant and cooling system deficiencies, and extreme environment demands. The history of ceramic bearings and the results of various element tests, bearing tests in rigs, and bearing tests in a turbine engine will be reviewed. The advantages and problems associated with the use of HPSN in rolling element bearings will be discussed.


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