Effect of raceway surface topography based on solid lubrication on temperature rise characteristics of HIPSN full ceramic ball bearings

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to understand the influence of raceway surface topography on the temperature rise characteristics of silicon nitride (Si3N4) full ceramic ball bearing and improve its service life.Design/methodology/approachThe arithmetic average height Sa, skewness Ssk and kurtosis Sku in the three-dimensional surface roughness parameters are used to quantitatively characterize the surface topography of the raceway after superfinishing. The bearing life testing machine is used to test the Si3N4 full ceramic ball bearing using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) cage under dry friction conditions, and the self-lubricating full ceramic ball bearing heat generation model is established.FindingsWith the decrease of Sa and Ssk on the raceway surface and the increase of Sku, the average height of the raceway surface decreases, and the peaks and valleys tend to be symmetrically distributed on the average surface, and the surface texture becomes tighter. This kind of raceway surface topography is beneficial to form a thin and uniform filamentous PTFE transfer film with a wide coverage area on the raceway surface based on consuming less cage materials and improving the temperature rise characteristics of hot isostatic pressing silicon nitride full ceramic ball bearings.Originality/valueThe research results provide a theoretical basis for the reasonable selection of Si3N4 ring raceway processing technology and have important significance for improving the working characteristics and service life of Si3N4 full ceramic ball bearings under dry friction conditions.