Stability and skidding behavior of spacecraft porous oil-containing polyimide cages based on high-speed photography technology

The stability and skidding degree of the porous oil-containing polyimide cage used in the rolling bearing in spacecraft as a function of cage oil-content ratio, applied load, and rotation speed was experimentally studied. The internal and surface topography of cage has been analyzed to explain the lubrication mechanism. A non-invasive material-independent high-speed (10 kHz) photography technology that can obtain the instantaneous cage state was adopted in test rig. Three indicators were defined to characterize the cage stability and skidding. The results show that the vibration level of the cage with 60% oil content ratio is 2 dB lower than that without oil. The bearing skidding ratio under axial force of 60 N is 4% higher than that of 210 N. The fluctuation amplitude of the cage whirl radius at 5000 r/min is about 3 times that of 1000 r/min.