Fatigue Behavior of Hybrid Ceramic Ball Bearings in Liquid Nitrogen

Abstract

Hybrid ceramic ball bearings, which are composed of silicon nitride (Si3N4) balls, ANSI 440C stainless steel rings and PTFE based composite retainers, are tested at high speed and heavy loading in cryogenic conditions. The rolling contact fatigue behavior of steel rings and ceramic balls in liquid nitrogen is analyzed. In addition, four-ball fatigue testing was done at room temperature with oil lubrication. The crush load of ball against ball in liquid nitrogen, which directly relates to the inner quality of the balls, is also evaluated. The results show that the spalling of silicon nitride balls, rather than micro pitting on the steel raceways, is the main cause for the failure of the hybrid ball bearings in liquid nitrogen. The fatigue mechanism of the ceramic balls is similar to that of ceramic balls at room temperature, but the characteristics of crack propagation are different because of differences between the cryogenic liquid medium and oil. Although most of the fatigue cracks originated from internal defects within the ceramic balls, the silicon nitride balls exhibit a high load capacity. When silicon nitride balls are loaded against steel balls, the steel balls are crushed while the silicon nitride balls do not exhibit plastic deformation. When ceramic balls with a 11.113 mm diameter are loaded against each other, crushing takes place at a nominal contact stress of 27∼29 GPa. Presented a the 58th Annual Meeting in New York City April 28–May 1, 2003