On the Radial Vibration of Ball Bearings (Computer Simulation)

Computer simulation is used to analyze the radial vibration of ball bearings in order to overcome the experimental and theoretical difficulties; the experimental difficulty is due to the complicated interaction of the predominant factors, and the theoretical difficulty is due to the nonlinear spring behaviour and time-dependent excitation of ball bearings. The inner ring motion, which involves the Perret-Meldau problem, is considered in the radial plane for ideal ball bearings in which the inner ring has a mass, rotates with a constant speed, and is loaded by a constant force. The results show that superharmonic, subharmonic, beat and chaos-like vibrations appear, in addition to harmonic vibration synchronizing with the ball passage.