An Approach for Predicting the Vibro-Impact Behavior of Angular Contact Ball Bearing Considering Variable Clearance

This work develops a comprehensive analysis method to examine the nonlinear dynamic response of angular contact ball bearings (ACBBs) with variable clearance. Based on the elastic contact theory and friction principle, the nonlinear contact-impact behavior of the ACBB is systematically investigated. A multibody dynamics model incorporating three-dimensional clearance effects is developed. First, the nonlinear vibro-impact dynamics model of the ACBB is presented considering the influence of variable clearance. Second, the kinematic analysis of the ACBB with clearance is planned, and performance tests are performed under variable conditions, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of a numerical simulation of the ACBBs with variable clearance is performed. The results show that the increase in rotation speed and external load would cause the high-frequency contact impact between ball and raceway. The decline of the deviation ratio for the cage’s mass center velocity illustrates that the motion trajectory of ACBB would be irregular.