Transient Ball Motion and Skid in Ball Bearings

The generalized differential equations of motion of the ball in an angular contact ball bearing operating under elastohydrodynamic traction conditions are formulated and integrated with prescribed initial conditions. A complete transient and steady state motion is thus obtained to predict the amount of skid and resulting wear rates for a set of given operating conditions. The analysis provides an up-to-date design tool in predicting skid and ball motion as a whole in ball bearings operating under arbitrary ball-race traction characteristics.