Determination of the Resistance to Rotation in a Radial Bearing with Accounting for Friction in the Separator

The article presents a mathematical model of the resistance torque of rotation in a ball bearing, taking into account the friction of the rolling elements on the cradle and the cradle on the centering surface of the outer ring. According to the technical requirements, under operating conditions, the bearings are loaded with axial and radial forces and a tilting moment. When developing the methodology for calculating the bearing, the axial, radial, and moment loads were taken into account. The article considers a ball bearing installed with a possible misalignment of the rings. The angle of misalignment of the rings varies from 0 to the limit angle of free rotation. The resistance to rotation is estimated by the friction torque on the outer ring of the bearing. When determining the resistance torque to rotation in a ball bearing, the centrifugal forces of the balls were taken into account. Based on the given mathematical model, an algorithm and a computer program were developed for calculating the friction torque in a ball bearing, taking into account the friction of the cage on the rolling elements and the centering ring. The calculated values of the friction torque were compared with the experimental data obtained on the upgraded bench. The experimental error in determining the friction torque was 12.5%. It was shown that there is a good correlation between the theoretical curves and the experimental data. The maximum discrepancy between theoretical and experimental data does not exceed 15%. The theoretical curves intersect all the dispersion ellipses of the experimental measurements, which indicates the reliability of the developed method for determining the moment of resistance of ball bearings, taking into account the friction of the cage on the rolling elements and the centering ring.