A Simulation Study on the Effects of Race Surface Waviness on Cage Dynamics in High-Speed Ball Bearings

The effects of the race surface waviness on the cage dynamics, including cage slip ratios, cage instabilities, and time-averaged cage wear rates, in high-speed ball bearings are investigated. A dynamic model of high-speed ball bearings considering the cage effect and the race surface waviness is proposed. Based on the proposed dynamic model, the effects of the maximum wave amplitude (MWA) and the wave order (WO) of race surface waviness on cage slip ratio, cage instability, and time-averaged cage wear rate are investigated. The results show that the race surface waviness has a great effect on the cage dynamics. The waviness would increase the random impacts between balls and cage pockets and thus cause more instable motion of the cage. Although the ball skidding and the cage slip ratio decrease with the increase of MWA, the cage instability and the cage wear rate become severe when MWA increases. In addition, the effect of WO on cage dynamics is nonlinear. The current investigation could provide a theoretical tool for an in-depth understanding of the dynamics in a high-speed ball bearing.