Research on Lubrication Characteristics of Cage-Free Ball Bearing with Local Functional Slot

Abstract

The factors affecting the lubrication effect of a ball bearing without cage and containing a functional slot are analyzed, including the structural parameters of the functional slot, the speed of the rolling element, and the deformation of the contact surface, in order to establish the initial oil volume equation. Based on the multiple mesh method and Matlab programming, the established model is solved by obtaining the distribution rules of oil film pressure, oil film thickness, and oil film flow rate between the rolling element, the conventional raceway, and the functional slot under different speed conditions, and by determining the optimal functional slot depth. Finally, through an experiment performed to verify the lubrication effect of the lubricating oil in the functional slot, the results show that the lubricating oil in the functional slot can have a lubricating effect, and the initial amount of lubricating oil needed increases with an increase in speed.