Experimental study on skid damage of cylindrical roller bearing considering thermal effect

A skid damage test rig was developed to simulate the dynamic contact between bearing ring and roller, to reveal the reason why the skid damage of roller bearing sometimes occurs and/or sometimes does not under high-speed and lightload condition at the same slip rate. The mechanism of skid damage to a roller bearing was examined by changing experimental conditions such as the surface topography, slip, inner ring speed, radial load and lubrication. An orthogonal experiment design was used, and the results showed that the slip affected the temperature rise the most followed by the radial load, lubrication and inner ring speed. The relationship between the temperature rise and skid damage was examined; skid damage occurred when the temperature increased rapidly and continually, and non-skid damage occurred when the temperature remained constant or increased very slowly. The temperature varied directly with the inner ring speed. Skid damage is mostly thermal failure where metal-to-metal contact occurs in the contact area of the bearing ring and roller after the oil film is broken; this can result in a sharp temperature rise and material transfer, and the damage can quickly extend to the whole contact area. The preliminary test result showed that the unbalanced loading and muddy oil lubrication are prone to accelerate the damage process and intensify the degree of skid damage.