An Elasto-Plastic Ball Bearing Contact with Bilinear Hardening

Abstract

This study is an analytical evaluation of contact and wear on ball bearings using the finite element method. Ball bearings are used in various sectors, such as in the automobile, turbine and aircraft engine industries, to reduce rotational friction and support radial loads. Nevertheless, ball bearings often experience failure due to wear as a consequence of contact pressure. The contact between the ball bearing components will affect the surface of the balls, and the inner and outer rings. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to examine the stress distribution and elasto-plastic deformation in order to analyse the contact between the ball bearing components. Most of the existing contact and wear models for ball bearings only take into account the elastic model. However, an analytical evaluation of contact and wear using an elastic model, while ignoring plastic deformation, is inaccurate. In this study, a contact analysis was performed using elasto-plastic models of a ball bearing, and the results were validated using data from a previous research. Boundary loads of between 100 N to 800 N were applied and plasticity values of 550 MPa, 1050 MPa, 1550 MPa and 2050 MPa were used to analyse the contact behaviour. As the boundary load increased, the maximum contact pressure and displacement of the ball bearing increased. As the plasticity, E2 rose higher, the maximum plastic strain was lowered proportionally.