Study of sliding torque of ball joints (part 1): relation between contact region and contact pressure

摘要

This research discusses the effect of various factors on sliding torque and clarifies sliding torque properties with the aim of providing design reference for ball joints, which are a crucial mechanical element used in mechanisms that transmit power in machines and systems. This report substitutes a mechanical model for the ball joints that are used as automobiles parts and provides a theoretical discussion of sliding torque and other phenomena. It concludes that in ball joints assumed to have three contact regions, a critical factor determining the contact region is the contact angle and that there is a definite average contact pressure for each contact pressure. This result is then used to consider the arithmetic mean of sliding torque as found in sliding torque experiments. This results in evidence of the possibility that if one controls the contact angle, one can make ball joints with excellent sliding torque properties.