IMPROVING THE SURVIVABILITY OF HIGH-SPEED BALL-BEARINGS UNDER OIL SHUTOFF CONDITIONS BY CHEMICAL MODIFICATION OF THE SURFACE

Oil shut-of tests were performed using 150 mm bore M50-steel ball bearings under high speed rotation conditions. This investigation demonstrated that bearings that had received chemical modification of the surface were able to delay the onset of bearing seizure after lubricant shut-off. Comparing the chemically modified surface to a conventional bearing surface, this paper describes the differences and changes in the bearing temperature rise and the cage rotation speed after oil shut-off In addition, this paper presents an analysis on the changes of rolling element motion during oil shut-off for bearings with and without surface modification.