Effect of Lubricant Film Thickness on Ball Bearing Life under Contaminated Lubrication (Part 2): Relationship between Film Thickness and Dents Formation

摘要

To this day, a lubricant film condition represented by Him parameter has been almost disregarded in studies of debris-induced failure of rolling bearings. However, as described in Part 1, film condition is a principal factor in the life as well as the failure mode of rolling bearings under severe contaminated lubrication. In the life tests described in the previous paper, many dents were formed on the raceways, and bearing life was reduced with increasing lubricant film thickness. These results indicate that the degree of denting affects bearing life, and the film condition is closely related to dents formation. In this part, the relationship between film condition and dents formation is investigated, and the mechanism of difference in degree of denting with change in film thickness is considered.