Effect of Lubricant Starvation on the Minimum Load Condition in a Thrust-Loaded Ball Bearing

Ball bearings operating below the minimum load limits experience large-scale sliding and, consequently, premature fatigue failure. A test rig has been designed and developed to study the effects of lubricant reduction on the threshold of cage gross skidding in a 35-mm-bore, angular-contact ball bearing. The experimental results were also correlated with the data from a computer model. The minimum load limit is decreased when the oil supply is reduced. This reduction of the minimum safe load is more pronounced at higher shaft speeds.