Vibration Studies of Dynamically Loaded Deep Groove Ball Bearings in Presence of Local Defects on Races

Abstract

Theoretical and experimental vibration studies of dynamically loaded deep groove ball bearings having local circular shape defects on either race are reported in this paper. The shaft, housing, raceways and ball masses are incorporated in the proposed mathematical model. Coupled solutions of governing equations of motion have been achieved using Runge-Kutta method. The model provides the vibrations response for the shaft, balls, and housing in time and frequency domains. The results achieved based on the proposed mathematical model have been validated with the experimental results. In experiments, the test bearings were radially loaded using an electro-mechanical shaker. The radial load excitation frequency ranged 10 - 1000Hz. The characteristic defect frequencies and related harmonics are broadly investigated and presented herein.