Nonlinear dynamics of full-ceramic bearing-rotor system considering structural defects in cage pockets

Abstract

Full ceramic bearings provide exceptional characteristics, including elevated accuracy and substantial load-bearing capability, rendering them indispensable in high-end rotating machinery. Still, the long-term use of the bearing will lead to the gradual wear and defects of the cage pocket, which may affect the unstable operation of the rotor system. This study examines the vibration characteristics of cage failure through simulation and experiments. To study the dynamic characteristics of the bearing-rotor system, a dimensionless model is established by using the lumped mass method, and a cage failure model is added to the model, which can study the influence of cage failure on the system stability. Phase trajectories, Poincaré plots, and bifurcation diagrams are employed to analyze the impact of individual parameters on the nonlinear vibration of the system. Ultimately, to gather cage vibration data from two different types of faulty, the experimental approaches are used. The findings indicate that in the event of cage failure, the system’s amplitude amplifies and the time-domain vibration signal exhibits distinct periodicity. Then, the vibration energy gradually focuses on low-frequency vibrations. Additionally, the spectrograms allow for easier identification of frequency components associated with the cage frequency, such as nfc and mfs ± nfc, the largest error is 3.32% when comparing the two models’ simulated results with the experimental data. The model accurately depicts the frequency characteristics of failures resulting from wear and defects in full ceramic bearing cages. It offers crucial information for detecting failures and monitoring the health of full ceramic bearings.